
Pass 3^ 

Book___i__ 




lOilEEHENGE. 

1820.-3828. 1B36 11844. 



SKETCHES 



OP 



WESLEYAN PREACHERS 



33g ttobert QL \3)est 



If the chylde be of nature inclyned (as many haue ben) to peynte 
with a pen, he shoulde not be therfrom withdrawen, or nature be 
rebuked, whiche is to hvm beneuolent. — Elyot. 






GEORGE PECK, EDITOR. 




PUBLISHED BY LANE & TIPPETT, 

FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 200 MULBERRY-STREET. 
JOSEPH LONGKING, PRINTER. 

1848. 



**«**" 

.Y^ 3 



Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1848, by 

LANE & TIPPETT, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District 
of New- York. 



PREFACE. 



The author of the following Sketches has 
occasionally felt no little surprise at the 
many points of difference in the practical 
working of Methodism in America and 
England. Especially has he wondered, 
considering that the two countries are in 
such constant intercourse, that comparatively 
so little is known of even the more pro- 
minent ministers of the English Wesley an 
Church. Having had peculiar facilities for 
acquaintance with some of these great and 
good men, it occurred to him that a series 
of pen-portraits, if drawn with truth, might 
be acceptable to the American reader. He 
was the more willing to write such Sketches 
because it would afford an opportunity of 
incidentally illustrating some of the points 
of difference referred to. The Sketches 
were originally commenced in the Christian 
Advocate and Journal, and were continued 
through several numbers. The whole of 
those thus published are, with two excep- 
tions, embodied in this volume ; having been 



PREFACE. 



rewritten, that they might be more worthy 
of this more permanent form. A consider- 
able portion of the volume, however, now 
appears for the first time ; and the author 
believes that the additional sketches will be 
found as true to the original, and as interest- 
ing, as those previously published. He 
cannot desire that they should be received 
with more general kindness and approval. 

A more imposing style might have been 
adopted in the composition of these portraits, 
and more criticism indulged in, had the 
writer been so disposed ; but he had another 
and higher aim — to familiarize the Methodist 
Episcopal Church in the United States with 
the pulpit and pastoral character of the 
Methodist ministry in the " fatherland ;" the 
working of Methodism itself, its institutions, 
&c. If he shall have done anything to 
strengthen the bonds of union between the 
two large and influential churches, or to 
stimulate the one to emulate the other in 
anything which may more effectually carry 
out the designs of Methodism's honored 
founder, he will have attained the end he 
was most desirous to gain. 



CONTENTS. 



Jabez Bunting, . 


PAGE 

7 


Samuel Bardsley, 


PAGE 

207 


John Smith, . . 


42 


Theophilus Lessey, 


212 


John Lomas, . . 


64 


Thomas H. Walker 


235 


Richard Reece, 


7& 


Adam Clarke, . . 


239 


Robert Newton, . 


81 


Philip Hard castle. 


265 


Isaac Turton, . 


108 


Miles Mart ind ale, 


268 


Robert Young, . 


114 


Daniel Chapman, . 


295 


Daniel Isaac, . 


122 


Francis A. West, . 


302 


Samuel Hick, . . 


146 


William Dawson, 


317 


James Everett, . 


. 157 


John Anderson, 


340 


James Wood, 


. 175 


Wm. M. Bunting, . 


355 


Robert Wood, . 


. 181 


George Morley, . 


364 


John Hanwell, . 


. 189 


Joseph Beaumont, 


368 


Hodgson Casson, 


. 201 


William Shaw, 


379 


Appendix — Notice 


S OF E> 


glish Methodism, . 


391 



SKETCHES 



OF 



WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



3abt) hunting, JD. ID. 

" Never lived gentleman of greater merit, 
Hope or abiliment to rule a kingdom." 

" The monarch-mind, the mystery of commanding, 
The godlike power, the art Napoleon 
Of winning, fettering, molding, wielding, banding, 
The hearts of millions, till they move as one." — Halleck. 

The Rev. Dr. Bunting is, for obvious reasons, 
entitled to precedence in these sketches. He is 
the greatest among many great men, and stands 
by common consent at the head of the Wesleyan 
Methodist Connection. Unostentatiously wearing 
the honors of his admitted position, he also endures 
uncomplainingly, for Methodism's sake, the com- 
bined attacks of its enemies. Churchmen of " high " 
and of " low " degree ; " Dissenters " of every grade ; 
the " people called Methodists " who have for- 
saken the fold, or, remaining within its inclosure, 
are estranged in heart from its discipline and insti- 
tutions — these all make the reverend gentleman the 
butt for their hostility. The contumely, reproach, 
scandal, and animosity, with which at one time 
Methodism and Methodists generally were assailed, 



8 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

seem in these latter days to be directed, with con- 
centrated bitterness, against the Rev. Jabez Bunt- 
ing. This fact must necessarily enter into any 
sketch of that gentleman, and a brief digression 
must therefore be made at the outset, for the sake 
of inquiring into the causes of this feeling toward 
one whose private character all acknowledge to be 
unimpeachable, and who has never been convicted, 
nor by those who best know him even suspected, 
of unfaithfulness to the trust which his brethren 
have, to an unusual extent, tacitly reposed in him ; 
and who perhaps less than any equally public 
man has assailed those who differ from him, or re- 
turned railing for railing. 

We say a digression, because in prosecuting the 
inquiry some things must be premised, not legiti- 
mately entering into a sketch of an individual ; to 
wit, the relative position of the great religious de- 
nominations in England, and the prevalent opinion, 
erroneous though it be, of Dr. Bunting's power in 
the body to which he belongs. It is common in 
England to divide the Protestant denominations 
into three classes — the Established Church, Method- 
ists, and Dissenters. The division is just, although 
the high- church party profess to regard the Me- 
thodists as Dissenters, while the Dissenters them- 
selves, especially the political portion of them, in- 
dignantly deny the identity. In reality the Wes- 
leyan Methodists (for the "New Connection" are 
avowedly Dissenters) occupy as distinct a position as 
either of the other divisions of the great Protestant 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 9 

Christian church. They are not Dissenters, pro- 
perly so called, inasmuch as they do not object to 
the principle of an Established Church, and have 
never united with its opponents in seeking its over- 
throw as an establishment, or withholding that sup- 
port to which by law it is entitled. They have 
aided it in the time of its peril, rather, however, 
by their general influence than by any denomina- 
tional action. They left it under no protest against 
its fundamental principles, but because of its ex- 
clusive, inconvenient, and burdensome practice. To 
this day, no anti Established Church action has 
emanated from the Wesleyan Methodist Societies 
collectively. They are, in fact, as a body, simply 
non-conformists on the ground of expediency, hold- 
ing the doctrines, and, as far as seems appropriate 
for their peculiar sphere of action, adopting the 
forms and usages, and even the liturgy, of the 
Church of England. 

As a numerous, and now wealthy and intelligent 
body, and a neutral or middle party, they hold the 
balance of power between the two antagonistic 
denominations. By going over to either, they 
might secure immunity from much of the animosi- 
ty now shown toward them. This they have 
hitherto steadily refused to do. Within the last 
few years it has become well understood that to 
this purpose they will adhere, under whatever 
provocation they may suffer, or overtures receive, 
from either party. Their reply has at all times 
been, in effect, " We are doing a great work and 



10 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

'cannot come down to dispute with either of you 
about non-essentials or ecclesiastical polity." They 
content themselves with occasional co-operation 
with either party, when some great principle of 
civil or religious liberty is periled, or some vast 
triumph of benevolence or Christian principle is to 
be achieved. But they resolutely stand aloof from 
ecclesiastico-political amalgamation with one or the 
other. This we believe to be the exact position 
of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection at the pre- 
sent day. At the Conference of 1847, the body 
numbered in Great Britain alone, not including 
those "on trial," three hundred and thirty-nine 
thousand three hundred and seventy-nine ; in Ire- 
land, twenty-four thousand six hundred and thirty- 
three ; making, with those " on trial," at least 
three hundred and seventy thousand, under the 
pastoral care and influence of thirteen hundred and 
fifty authorized and ordained ministers.* Their in- 
fluence, therefore, upon political and ecclesiastical 
questions is known to be great ; and their bias is 
generally supposed to be toward the Establishment 
rather than toward the Dissenters. For this they 
have been assailed by those who have gone out 
from them, but have retained, with some qualifying 
prefix, the name of Methodists. Indeed this has 
been frequently assigned as one of the reasons for 
secession ; but it is not within the writer's know- 

* The number of members on the mission stations at the same 
period was 100,303 ; total number of members, exclusive of those on 
trial, under the care of the British and Irish Conferences, 464,315 ; 
and in Canada, 21,749 ; and of ministers within a fraction of 2,000- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 11 

ledge that a contrary tendency — a bias toward Dis- 
sent — has ever been put forward as a cause for 
separation from Wesleyan Methodism. Here then 
is a sufficient explanation why the Wesleyans are 
made to suffer under a double fire ; the adherents 
of the Church are well aware that the Methodists 
have permanently left the Establishment, so far as 
submission to its practice is concerned, and are 
jealous of their independence and growing influ- 
ence ; the anti-church-and-state men are annoyed 
that they will not throw their influence into the 
scale with Dissenters, and seek to drive them to 
that course, knowing, or at least suspecting, that 
Wesleyan neutrality is the principal impediment to 
their success. As assailants, necessarily so from 
the existing order of things, the Dissenters are na- 
turally more exasperated at this neutrality than 
are their opponents, to whom it is valuable next to 
active co-operation. 

But in ascertaining why Dr. Bunting should be 
individually selected for reproach and abuse, an- 
other fact must be referred to, namely, the common 
error that the reverend gentleman possesses an ab- 
solute, or at least positive, personal power in the 
Wesleyan Conference. On this ignorant assump- 
tion he is mercilessly assailed for all that body 
does or leaves undone ; what are accounted its 
sins of omission and commission being alike laid to 
his charge. While indignant at the injustice, dis- 
courtesy, and malignity, of many of the attacks 
upon Dr. Bunting, we have also been " exceedingly 



12 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

filled with contempt" at the utter ignorance of 
Wesleyan economy displayed by his open or ano- 
nymous assailants. They seem to suppose that 
the government of the Wesleyan Methodists is a 
" one-man power," — an absolute monarchy of the 
most absolute kind ; that the four hundred and 
sixty-five thousand of its members, leaders, stew- 
ards, trustees, and local preachers, and its two 
thousand itinerant ministers, live, move, and have 
their being, in Dr. Bunting ; and think, speak, and 
act, only as he gives them permission. Truly 
these traducers of the great Wesleyan body and 
the reverend gentleman " understand neither what 
they say, nor whereof they affirm." They know 
not the intelligence and independence of the Wes- 
leyan clergy and laity, which are surpassed by 
those of no body of clergy and laity on the face 
of the earth. The Rev. Jabez Bunting, D.D., in- 
fluential in council as he is known to be, has not 
and cannot have any strictly personal power in 
his official relations to the connection. The ac- 
knowledged principles by which the body is gov- 
erned forbid it. In Conference his vote counts but 
as one. He can do nothing contrary to, or aside 
from, the laws which govern the Conference, and to 
which both ministers and people are subject. Nor 
could he with impunity leave undone anything 
which those laws require him to do. The rules 
and usages of the connection are not in his keep- 
ing ; he cannot of his own will or power repeal, 
amend, or enact, a single clause, or alter a solitary 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 13 

word in the code. Whatever proposition he may 
make has to pass through the same ordeal as one 
proposed by any other member of the Conference, 
to the good sense of which body it must commend 
itself, if it is to be approved or adopted by them. 

Wesleyan Methodism has, strictly speaking, no 
written " constitution," as we understand the word. 
Certain principles and guards are established and 
perpetuated in the " Deed of Declaration," but that 
deed does not define a full constitutional method 
of internal government. Usage, more than writ- 
ten law, governs in all the proceedings of the Con- 
ference. But there are rules clearly defined, bind- 
ing upon and mutually protecting preachers and 
people, and these are to be preserved in their letter 
as well as in their spirit. One of these provides 
that any law affecting the societies, passed by the 
Conference, before it can be binding upon the peo- 
ple shall be submitted to them in their quarterly 
meetings, and be approved by a majority. Sup- 
pose that Dr. Bunting has conceived a measure 
which he thinks will be beneficial to the church at 
large. He must first propose it in the Conference. 
There it may be canvassed with the utmost free- 
dom. Every one who doubts its propriety has 
only to send up his name to the president, as an 
intimation that he wishes to speak upon the sub- 
ject, and he can state all his objections as forcibly 
as his ability admits. After free discussion the 
sense of the Conference is taken upon it ; and if 
the members are not satisfied of its expediency, 



14 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

they can postpone, or entirely set it aside, by their 
vote. If approved by them, it still has to be sub- 
mitted to the quarterly meeting in every circuit, 
and cannot become law without their sanction. If 
a measure be proposed not affecting the people, 
but the preachers only, it still has to pass through 
the ordeal of the Conference, as above described. 
So that the one-man power ascribed to Dr. Bunt- 
ing has, in reality, no existence in the Wesleyan 
body. That Dr. Bunting wields a vast influence, 
in Conference and out of it, is undeniable. But 
inasmuch as every proposition emanating from him 
is intelligently discussed in that body, and if adopt- 
ed, is so by consent of the whole, or a vote of the 
majority, it is unfair to lay the entire responsibility 
upon the reverend gentleman, even admitting that 
the measure is in any way reprehensible. Yet his 
opponents, jealous of his influence, and unable to 
counteract or curtail it, wrongfully speak of it as 
a tyrannical and absolute power. What that in- 
fluence is, and how acquired, we shall endeavor to 
show hereafter. 

We cannot, however, complete the inquiry with 
which we started, without to some extent forestall- 
ing judgment upon that point. In conscientiously 
assigning the reasons why Dr. Bunting has been 
so much assailed and calumniated, we must ex- 
press our belief that his inflexible devotion to the 
permanent interests of Methodism is at the foun- 
dation of all the reproach that has been cast upon 
him. In other words, his greatness is their griev- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 15 

ance. No storm can drive him from the field he 
thinks it his duty to occupy. He will not stoop 
to bandy words with his opponents, or relinquish 
his purpose because it is misunderstood or misre- 
presented, or quail for a moment under a torrent 
of even the most bitter invective. He relies upon 
his own integrity, like Nehemiah of old. The 
author of "Wesleyan Centenary Takings," who 
cannot be suspected of regarding our present sub- 
ject with a too favorable judgment, says of him : 
" He is great in mind, and great in influence ; too 
great to be forgiven ; if he were less so, it might 
be borne. This is the secret. It is the hostility 
of opposite views and sentiments, with less of in- 
terest at stake than there ought to be to warrant 
such hostility ; and the prejudice excited is the 
feeling of the vanquished — a struggle for supre- 
macy — the mortification of seeing another where 
we wish to be ourselves — the envy of a height we 
cannot attain. " Never was greater truth uttered, 
and the frankness of the avowal is the more honor- 
able to the author, as he is known to differ on 
many points from the gentleman of whom he thus 
speaks. Add to these views the fact that Dr. 
Bunting's whole life has been spent in consoli- 
dating, popularizing, and strengthening, the insti- 
tutions of Methodism — that in times of imminent 
peril, from disaffection and clamor, his wise coun- 
sels and vast influence have been successfully ex- 
erted in keeping the main body, of both preachers 
and people, within the ancient land-marks — and 



16 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

we have, without doubt, the true reason why the 
reverend gentleman has so many implacable ene- 
mies and bitter assailants. We leave this subject 
for the present, as in the prosecution of this 
sketch topics may again come up incidentally 
bearing upon it. 

The recent portraits of Dr. Bunting, given in 
the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine and elsewhere, 
are upon the whole correct. The full length 
figure in the great picture of the Wesleyan Cen- 
tenary meeting, published by Mr. Agnew, of 
Manchester, (England,) is also very good, except, 
perhaps, that it is scarcely heavy enough. He is 
about five feet ten or perhaps eleven inches in 
height, although the comparatively narrow or 
elongated form of the upper part of the body 
gives him an appearance of being even taller. He 
is of a corpulent frame, and erect in his carriage. 
The face is not exactly round, neither can it be 
called oval; it has a pleasant, dignified, placid 
expression, and when in entire repose is indicative 
of suavity and gentleness. The eyes are small 
and of a light blue-gray ; the forehead is good ; 
the head extremely bald, the skin fine and glitter- 
ing, but rather pale, save when the gentleman is 
excited in preaching or debate, when a deep flush 
covers the entire forehead and crown. When that 
crimson glow appears, the hearer may know that 
the speaker is about to 

11 pour the stream of eloquence, 
With scathing lightning fraught." 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 17 

His dress is invariably black, a straight-breasted 
coat, and, latterly, pantaloons ; generally, though 
not at all times, he uses a walking-stick, and as 
commonly carries a well-worn umbrella under his 
arm. He walks leisurely ; can always spare a few 
moments to look into a bookseller's window, or to 
linger at a second-hand book- stall ; and has alto- 
gether a comely, comfortable appearance. His 
disposition is somewhat reserved, except among 
his intimate friends. With these, however, as Mr. 
Everett observes, " say after supper in the evening, 
his leg meanwhile laid along the sofa or across a 
chair, he can talk playfully and delightfully, till 
morning if you please, but always wisely and pru- 
dently. His manners are not polished, but easy, 
noble, and slightly courteous, without pride or 
affectation, and yet without any redundancy of 
condescension. He is, in short, a man of appa- 
rently simple and amiable character ; and though 
possessed of wit, is sparing of it in conversation, 
being more partial to discussion than to sallies of 
a lighter kind." The picture is so life-like and 
complete that nothing can be added to it ; it repre- 
sents the reverend gentleman, too, in one of his most 
pleasing aspects— his social character. 

Our present subject has so many prominent 
characteristics — we had almost said distinct cha- 
racters — that it is necessary to view him in their 
separate aspects, if we would have a just concep- 
tion of the whole man. There is, moreover, this 
crowning glory, that he positively excels in each. 

2 



18 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

As a "Wesley an preacher" he is first to be con- 
sidered. His character in this respect is unique. 
He has no parallel. Other men have gained le- 
gitimate and permanent eminence and influence by 
long years of patient study and labor ; he sprang 
at once to the pinnacle, where he has continued to 
this day, without seeming effort, to maintain his 
foothold. Other men commenced their ministerial 
life with their theological systems imperfectly or 
but partially defined, and have matured them by 
elaborately collating writers upon the subject ; he 
appeared among his brethren, " a Hercules from 
his cradle," with his theological views matured and 
established, clear, comprehensive, and evangelical, 
Those who heard him in his early days say, that as 
a preacher he has neither advanced nor retro- 
graded, simply exchanging "that popularity which, 
in connection with his extraordinary powers, be- 
longed to his youth, for that respectability by age 
to which early life could not establish a substan- 
tial claim.' ' And the testimony of these witnesses 
is corroborated by the fact, that the sermon on 
"Justification by Faith," founded on Romans viii, 
17, published in the earlier years of his ministry, 
remains unaltered and unimprovable in plan, mat- 
ter, and diction — " perfect and entire, lacking 
nothing" — as when it was first delivered, nearly 
forty years ago. The writer never heard a ser- 
mon from him which was not in itself a complete 
body of divinity, all naturally floAving from the 
subject, and no part of which could be omitted 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 19 

without marring the perfection and beauty of the 
whole. This is the peculiarity and charm of his 
preaching. His discourses are never confined to 
one topic, but embrace a variety, through which 
light beams from within, and heat that welds in 
inseparable union the several portions, or fuses 
them into one perfect whole. 

More particularly. We must speak of the gen- 
tleman in later times, say for the last ten or twelve 
years. In earlier days we apprehend, and indeed 
know from report, there was much more of physi- 
cal energy in his pulpit services, than within the 
period referred to. The impetuous bursts of ve- 
hement eloquence, which we have occasionally 
heard at the close of a sermon, were then more 
frequent, and perhaps more overpowering, but that 
is probably the main difference between the younger 
and the older man. When we occasionally sat 
under his ministry, his appearance in the pulpit 
was dignified and natural. His favorite attitude 
while preaching was with the fingers of the left 
hand partially inserted between the leaves of the 
Bible, toward the lower corner, the right hand at 
liberty, now lying easily upon the open page, now 
gently raised with a graceful movement, and now 
pushed forward with increasing emphasis of utter- 
ance. The reverend gentleman's action rarely ex- 
tends beyond this for the first three-fourths of the 
sermon. He enters the pulpit and commences the 
service, as he glides into his discourse, with the 
most perfect avoidance of formality or effort. You 



20 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

look up to the pulpit, and it is empty; in a few 
moments you look again, and are almost surpris- 
ed to find it occupied by the preacher, possibly 
just rising from his knees, and ready at once to 
enter upon the service of the sanctuary. Every- 
thing about him is easy and natural. JSTo adjust- 
ment of the person, apparel, or attitude, no hesita- 
tion about beginning, " no appearance of starting," 
offends the most fastidious of his congregation : 
" he glides into the service like an ethereal spirit, 
and conducts it like an apostle." The true great- 
ness of the man is often, though not invariably, re- 
vealed in the first prayer. If prevalence with God 
in prayer be a criterion of Christian character and 
attainments, as undoubtedly it is, then hath He 
who "answereth by fire" abundantly and often- 
times set his seal upon the Rev. Dr. Bunting as a 
man after his own heart. We have never heard 
any one who so mightily wrestled with God and 
prevailed, as on some and not unfrequent occasions 
did our present subject, unless it were John Smith, 
of whom mention is made in this volume. Bram- 
well and Stoner we never heard. But there was 
this difference between Mr. Smith and Dr. Bunting ; 
the former was vociferous in his earnestness, the lat- 
ter was simply powerful. His whole soul seemed 
drawn out into direct communion with God ; he 
seemed to rise up to the very mercy-seat, to lay 
hold upon the horns of the altar and lift himself 
into the presence of Deity, and there to importune 
until the Shekinah beamed forth in his glory, and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 21 

the heavenly influence, shed first upon him, dif- 
fused itself through the whole congregation, like 
the precious ointment that ran down to the skirts 
of Aaron's priestly garments ; or as though, with 
the mighty lever of believing intercession, he had 
forced open the gate of heaven, and the flood of 
glory had burst suddenly upon the waiting congre- 
gation. How comprehensive were his interces- 
sions, how earnest his supplications ; how truly he 
pleaded with the Most High, and how effectually, 
pen may not describe. How "good" it was "to 
be there," even they cannot fully tell who shared 
in the glory which, on such occasions, was revealed. 
"The day shall declare it," 

Dr. Bunting commences his sermon in a natural, 
even conversational, tone. The voice is full and 
agreeable, though lacking variety. This defect, 
however, is partially atoned for by its flexibility 
and power. In its middle tones it is most pleasing, 
being then sweet and persuasive, if the mere voice 
may be so characterized. Sometimes, toward the 
close of a discourse, when the preacher is for a 
few moments carried away by his theme, it is 
raised to a positive scream, but this is very seldom, 
as the reverend gentleman holds all his faculties 
under a very strict control in the pulpit. The in- 
troduction to his subject is natural, and by the 
time he approaches the division of his text, and 
proceeds to apportion its various topics, the hearer's 
mind is well prepared to fall in with the preacher's 
plan, and experiences something akin to surprise 



22 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

that the same train of ideas and amplification of 
thought have not already occurred to him in con- 
nection with the passage on which the preacher is 
dilating. This is one of the great charms of Dr. 
Bunting's ministry, and in no preacher have we 
known this peculiar excellence so strongly display- 
ed. He is as far removed from the "startling" 
school of preachers as light is from darkness. 
There is nothing ad captandum about his style ; 
all is plain, simple, natural, and so expressed, that 
hypercriticism is at fault to find a blemish or sug- 
gest an emendation. Having hi his own mind 
(though not always announcing his plan to the 
congregation) well arranged the main and sub- 
ordinate branches of his subject, like an angel of 
light moving in the courts and avenues of the tem- 
ple of truth ; or like the sun gently but perceptibly 
emerging from the horizon, first revealing, then 
illumining, and at length shortening, the shadows 
of every object, until in his noon-day splendor the 
entire circumference of vision is flooded with light ; 
so Dr. Bunting sheds over his multiform theme a 
pure and steady light, which reveals each object 
in all its bearings and relations to its kindred sub- 
ject or idea. An intelligent hearer, especially if 
he have any knowledge of theology, or love for the 
science, cannot for a moment withdraw his atten- 
tion from the preacher. The train of thought is so 
consecutive, each thread of the entire web is so in- 
timately interwoven with the other, the series of ar- 
guments so logically put and arranged, and every 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 23 

part of the whole so mutually dependent, that noth- 
ing could be spared without marring the beauty 
and symmetry of the structure. His mind is imbued 
with theology. While undeniably a reader to no 
ordinary extent, especially of the older divines, 
what he utters is strikingly his own ; everything 
thus gathered having been so thoroughly digested 
and transformed into aliment, as to be incorporated 
with his own mental constitution, and is seen only 
in the vigor, maturity, and fullness, of his thoughts. 
We know no man who, in theological disquisition, 
more readily perceives and more clearly points out 
nice distinctions, and is more precise in definitions ; 
while withal there is so much heart in all he says, 
and often such delicate pathos, that his congrega- 
tion are always refreshed as they drink of the con- 
solation which, to quote again from Mr. Everett, is, 
"without apparent effort, pumped up out of the 
depths of his own mind, and is as fertilizing and 
refreshing as the stream from the hills." 

Dr. Bunting's defect as a preacher, if defect it 
be, is that he preaches too long. Probably this 
has more the appearance of a defect as age has 
increased upon him, and his physical energies have 
somewhat abated. Indeed in converse with a 
friend, who heard him in London but a few months 
ago, we learned that many of the audience retired 
before the sermon was concluded, a very unusual 
thing with an English Wesleyan congregation. It 
is now probably eight years since the sound of his 
roice was familiar to our ears. We then heard 



24 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

him preach an "occasional sermon" in Manches- 
ter, and received the impression that age and 
much labor of thought were having their effect 
upon him. In his palmy days he was never known 
to misapply or recall a word, or to hesitate in the 
selection of the choicest words for the expression 
of his thoughts. Pure, chaste, eminently correct, 
Saxon-English diction distinguished him above 
every preacher of his day. He was perfect in 
synonymy. But on the occasion referred to he 
not unfrequently hesitated, recalled his words, and 
even once or twice became perplexed by the en- 
tanglement of his sentence's, and at the close of his 
discourse, when seemingly about to rise into one 
of those impassioned bursts of eloquence which 
have so often thrilled and electrified his audiences, 
he suddenly reined in, evidently mistrusting his 
powers, and betraying that distrust by a dejection 
of countenance, which, though brief in the ex- 
pression, was so full of feeling, that the recollec- 
tion of it is present to the writer with every re- 
membrance of Dr. Bunting. It seemed as though 
then, for the first time, the conviction had flashed 
upon his mind that his faculties were losing their 
long- sustained vigor. The subject was a mat- 
ter of much conversation and sorrow among his 
friends at the time ; but I have not the means of 
knowing whether the embarrassment was tempora- 
ry, arising from some transient disturbing cause, or 
whether it was of so permanent a character as his 
friends anticipated. My impression is, that he has 






SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 25 

preached less frequently since then, than in former 
times. 

The doctor is more remarkable for the excellence 
than the number of his special sermons — meaning 
those which he preaches on great public occasions. 
Like the sermon on ''Justification by Faith," al- 
ready referred to, they seem to undergo little, if 
any, alteration after their first production. And 
yet they are ever fresh in the delivery. He does 
not hesitate to repeat a discourse before the same 
people, and apprise them that he is aware of the 
repetition. The writer has heard three times, 
though in different places, the discourse on, — " If 
any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be 
anathema maranatha," and there petition of others, 
the texts of which are not at this moment in re- 
membrance. It does not seem likely that he keeps 
any register of places and texts, where and from 
which he preaches, because w^e cannot suppose 
that it is either from necessity or indolence that 
this repetition arises. Far otherwise. A case in 
point occurs to us. He was solicited to preach an 
occasional sermon at a comparatively small circuit 
town, where he had never before occupied the 
pulpit. He consented, and selected for his text, 
" Curse ye Meroz, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants 
thereof ; because they came not out to the help of the 
Lord, to the help of the Lord, against the mighty," 
a powerful sermon, by the way, which would shut 
up in condemnation thousands of professors in the 
present day. A second time he was invited, and 



26 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

he took for his text the passage already quoted, 
"If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ" &c. 
A very kind and friendly intercourse sprung up 
between him and the people, and a third time he 
favored them with his ministrations, this time 
preaching from, "Behold I set before you this day 
a blessing and a curse" &c, dwelling principally 
upon the curse as the penalty of disobedience. A 
fourth application was made to him from the same 
place. A minor though prior engagement of some 
kind induced him to decline the invitation. " Nay, 
doctor," said the applicant, "you have three times 
pronounced a curse upon us, surely you will not 
refuse to come and bless us." " What 's that ?" 
said Dr. Bunting. The facts were repeated to 
him. He smiled, and immediately replied, " 
yes, my brother, I '11 come down and bless you be- 
fore I die, and if God spares me, I will accept 
your invitation." He did so, and preached from 
these words, "Surely blessing I will bless thee" 
The sermon was said to be one of the richest dis- 
courses he ever delivered. 

Perhaps no preacher has appeared more fre- 
quently in print than Dr. Bunting. His are ser- 
mons, indeed, not difficult to report, and very pro- 
fitable to read. Hence, whenever he is within rea- 
sonable distance of the metropolis, the publishers 
of the "Pulpit," the "Wesleyan Preacher," and 
other periodicals devoted to the publication of ser- 
mons, dispatch reporters to take down his dis- 
course, greatly to the annoyance of the reverend 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 27 

gentleman, who, in common with his brethren, has 
a strong aversion to appearing in print, at least in 
such prints under such circumstances. Some cha- 
racteristic anecdotes are current respecting him in 
this connection. Once when preaching at Ham- 
mersmith, in the suburbs of London, he saw a re- 
porter in the gallery busily taking notes. Pausing 
in the introduction, he quietly said, " I see a re- 
porter there, in the front pew of the gallery. I 
beg to inform him that not only has this discourse 
been more than once preached by me, but by re- 
ferring to the " Pulpit" of such a date (naming it) he 
will find it there reported, and may save himself a 
second desecration of the sabbath and the house 
of God." The reporter, however, was not made 
of such modest stuff, that even such a reproof could 
prevent the fulfillment of his contract with those 
who sent him. Equally pointed was his reproof of 
one of the offending tribe on another occasion, but 
equally fruitless in its result. " Young man," said 
he, " I see you are busy taking notes of my ser- 
mon. If you wish to remember it, you should try 
and do so when you go home, and not disturb a 
whole congregation, peaceably assembled for the 
worship of God." We are not aware, however, 
that he ever resorted to legal measures to hinder 
the proprietors of such periodicals from publishing 
his discourses, or that the question has ever been 
fairly tried in the English courts. Soon after the 
Rev. Dr. Harris rose into deserved popularity by 
the publication of his prize essay, entitled " Mam- 



28 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

mon," he acceded to the request of the Wesleyan 
Missionary Committee to preach the annual ser- 
mon before the society at the May anniversary in 
London, when he delivered his beautiful discourse 
on "The Witnessing Church." The reporters for 
the "Pulpit" were there in full force, and in the 
next publication a very fair report of the discourse 
appeared. Dr. Harris immediately served the pub- 
lishers with an injunction, and they would not ven- 
ture upon a defense, but compromised the matter 
by suppressing the publication, and paying all ex- 
penses. 

We believe that Dr. Bunting is even greater as 
a pleader than as a preacher ; but here we are com- 
pelled to speak from report, as the arena on which 
he has principally figured in this character — the 
Wesleyan Conference — is not an open body. We 
have occasionally heard him from the missionary 
platform, and twice during the great Centenary 
meeting in Manchester. His addresses of this cha- 
racter are models of propriety, full of great prin- 
ciples and impressive views of the subject under 
discussion, and he does not stay to repeat what is 
already known. To familiar topics, arguments, or 
facts, a mere passing allusion is made, and the 
speaker goes on to carry out the principle or dis- 
cuss its results. In committee he never speechifies, 
seldom talking above five minutes at a time, unless 
he is charged with the introduction of some im- 
portant measure ; but contents himself with vigilant- 
ly watching the debate, occasionally cooling down 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 29 

any undue excitement, and narrowing the discus- 
sion by judiciously pruning it of any extraneous 
matter with which members of less discernment or 
business capacity may have encumbered it. He is 
familiar with the various methods of staving off a 
decision, and uses them when he foresees a con- 
clusion which he thinks premature or injurious to 
the interests of the cause he advocates. But, we 
repeat, it is in the Conference that his greatness as 
a pleader — his consummate art and power at re- 
plication — is most apparent. There we cannot fol- 
low him ; but as we desire to give as perfect a por- 
trait of the man as our means will permit, we copy, 
the more willingly as it has not been published in 
America, from the " Wesley an Centenary Takings,'' 
the following, which we have been frequently as- 
sured, by members of that body, is to the life : — 

" See him : there he sits on the platform, sur- 
rounded by the leading members of the Confer- 
ence, his elbow on the table, and his chin embed- 
ded in the palm of his hand. A subject of import- 
ance being on the tapis, and the speaker being low, 
or at a distance, the hand is speedily relieved of 
the chin, and placed behind the ear, where it re- 
mains as a substitute for a trumpet, gathering to- 
gether the words, while the sense which it is in- 
tended to aid drinks in the sound. An occasional 
note is made on a slip of paper, or the back of a 
letter, in the course of a protracted discussion ; but 
memory, which rarely ever fails him, is mostly de- 
pended upon. Now, he is calm and dignified ; but 



30 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

in an instant the scene is changed. The speaker 
has the misfortune to oppose some favorite theory, 
to trench upon some of the peculiarities of Me- 
thodism, or belongs to the other side of the house : 
that moment, the eye of our pleader is darted like 
the eye of a lynx along the line of sound, and 
either quails or rouses the person who has gained 
Ins attention. He again appears tranquil ; but it is 
the tranquillity of a man who is pondering upon 
what has been said. Speaker succeeds speaker, 
till at length silence ensues ; and, during the mo- 
mentary pause, he looks round : but no one assay- 
ing to rise, he considers his own time to have come. 
He loves the closing speech ; and now that he is on 
his feet, let the eye be thrown around the audi- 
ence, and all will be seen on the tip -toe — all will 
be still to the ear. The first feeling in operation in 
the breasts of previous speakers, refers as much to 
themselves as the subject; and the first thought in 
the mind of the mere hearer, is inadvertently di- 
rected to the same quarter, and is followed up with 
anxiety or pleasure — looking forward to see how it 
will fare with such as have thus entered the arena 
of debate, as well as toward the fate of the ques- 
tion in winch he himself may have an interest, and 
which absolutely hangs upon the breath, and is to 
be decided by him upon whom every eye is now 
fixed, as by fascination. Listen to him : he takes, 
perhaps, at first, a dispassionate view of the general 
question, then gives you his own opinion; next 
goes on to establish certain positions ; notices the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 31 

remarks of previous speakers, so far as they seem 
to interfere with his own sentiments; and, lastly, 
proceeds to the formal reply, in which he often 
takes upon himself the onus probandi, either class- 
ifying the arguments of his opponents, or taking up 
their objections separately, as may best suit his 
purpose ; encircling himself all the while in a tower 
of strength, from whose impregnable walls he nods 
defiance to all his assailants. Yery often, at a mo- 
ment, when a man is congratulating himself on the 
probability of a happy escape, or of finding his ar- 
guments valid, by a less early notice, he will come 
down upon him in an instant, like an unexpected 
flash of lightning, broad and vivid, shivering to 
pieces, by a single stroke, the whole superstructure 
he had reared, and upon which he had long gazed 
with the fondness of a parent on a favorite child — 
compelling him at the time by its glare to shrink 
back into himself. On these occasions, he can be 
sarcastic, solemn, playful, or otherwise. But he 
never approaches a subject without illiiminating it, 
and rarely retires from the field without conquest ; 
followed by the smiles of his friends, and leaving 
the opposing powers in a state of suspense or blank 
astonishment. 

" We feel unwilling to leave this part of his cha- 
racter, and yet we are afraid to proceed with it, 
owing to our incompetency to do it justice. We 
have heard pleaders at the bar, and statesmen in 
the senate, (a place, by the way, which he is very 
fond of attending.) but we solemnly aver, that, for 



32 SKETCHES OF WESLEY AN PREACHERS. 

reply, we never heard a near approach to him. 
His replies are like the set speeches of some of our 
first speakers ; so full, so regular, so neat, so con- 
secutive, so pertinent, so easy, so ready ! He never 
talks for the sake of talking, to show off, or for the 
sake of conquest. He always has an object in 
view separate from himself, of which he never loses 
sight, and a subject creditable to his own intelli- 
gence. In listening to him, Cicero rather than 
Demosthenes seems to haunt the mind ; but then 
it is Cicero in his philosophical, rather than his 
oratorical character ; his orations being mere clap- 
traps for the mob. There is also something more 
stubborn in the composition of our modern orator ; 
he is better qualified to face a storm : but still, we 
cannot refrain from adverting to Cicero, whose 
superiority was felt by all, whose wisdom com- 
manded respect, and whose eloquence enraptured 
the auditor. Here Ave perceive a parallel. Every 
reply carries with it the mathematical precision of 
previous study, even when there has been no means 
of knowing what was about to be advanced by the 
opposing party ; and all is conducted without pa- 
rade, imparting light as unostentatiously as the 
sun, which, in return — where there is no clashing 
interest at stake, or the heart is not abandoned to 
prejudice — is received with as hearty a welcome. 
The whole, whether long or short, is as perfect as 
if it had been prepared months before, though 
only conceived — which shows the amazing power 
of conception and rapidity of thought — during the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 33 

speech or speeches of those who may have pre- 
ceded. There is no baffling, no tripping, not a 
point of importance omitted, not a question blink- 
ed ; all is poured out with the freshness and ease 
of the lark singing his first morning carol. He has 
no set time for emphasis ; but rises in feeling with 
the importance of his subject ; and the people go 
up with him, till both gain the summit of the mount, 
and the latter feel it difficult to descend again, or 
stoop to common things. His eloquence is irre- 
sistible. Had he been brought up to the bar, or 
been trained for the senate, he would never have 
paused in his upward career, till he had either been 
premier or lord high chancellor ; and where he is, 
he is a king among his subjects. 

" Still proceeding with his character as a debater, 
it may be observed, that you always know where 
he is ; but then, he knows also the exact position 
of his opponent. His presence of mind never for- 
sakes him. No man makes fewer mistakes ; and he 
never leaves an advantage unimproved. It is dan- 
gerous for an adversary to slumber or be off his 
guard in his presence. He is always awake him- 
self, and, like the famous Erskine, is as daring as 
he is skillful ; taking advantage of the least opening, 
and defending himself with caution. His fine spirit 
and courage, when let out, give vigor and direction 
to the whole, bearing down all resistance. He is 
not like some speakers, full of repetition, recurring 
again and again to the same topic or view of the 
subject, till he has made the impression complete ; 

3 



34 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

he rarely goes back to the same ground, which, in 
the language of an eminent writer, he has ' utterly- 
wasted by the tide of fire he has rolled along it.' 
He completes his work as he goes on. He has a 
preternatural quickness of apprehension, which en- 
ables him to see at a glance what costs other minds 
the labor of an investigation. It is this that makes 
ordinary business easy to him : and hence, he has 
been heard to say, that he could never make what 
some men call speeches : that his were all matters 
of mere detail in business. He is not only quick, 
but sure. And though he has fire, yet it is of that 
kind, that he has rarely the heat of passion to plead 
or regret. As the head of a party, he has none of 
its prejudices to plead, having no person to serve ; 
and he has few, if any peculiarities, of a personal 
character ; no ' mental idiosyncracies,' as Lord 
Brougham would say, to indulge, which produce 
capricious fancies and crotchets. His faculties are 
always unclouded and unstunted, ever to be de- 
pended on ; and his judgment secures him success 
and adherents." 

The name of Doctor Bunting will ever be asso- 
ciated with Wesleyan Methodism. He has taken 
such an active part in the deliberations and gov- 
ernment of the body ; has impressed upon its con- 
stitution so much of his own views and policy, and 
is so universally regarded as the virtual head of 
the denomination, that his name will be perpetuated 
for ever in this connection. Against all the world, 
we are prepared to deny that Dr. Bunting could 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. S5 

ever have attained his present position, as a ruler 
in the Methodistic Israel, if there had been any 
defect in his moral or religious character ; or that 
he could have reached it by any selfish, cunning, 
aggrandizing policy. The known piety, intelli- 
gence, probity, and independence of his brethren, 
forbid such a supposition. How then has he at- 
tained such a position, at once so creditable to his 
personal, religious, and Methodistical character? 
Perhaps it may interest the reader to trace, in 
this connection, the personal history of Dr. Bunt- 
ing. 

The reverend gentleman is of humble parentage, 
and was born in the county of Derby, in 1780. 
Both his parents were members of the Wesley an 
Society ; they removed to Manchester while our 
subject was yet a child. In that town he was 
admitted into the free grammar-school, and there 
attracted the attention of the celebrated Dr. Per- 
cival, who employed him as his amanuensis, and 
at his death showed the respect and confidence he 
entertained toward him by appointing him one of 
his executors. At an early age the youth joined 
the Wesleyan Society, though he was at the time 
surrounded by Unitarian influences. In 1799, be- 
ing then about nineteen years of age, he entered 
the itinerancy under the auspices of the Rev. 
William Thompson, who presided at the first Con- 
ference after the death of Mr. Wesley. His first 
circuit was Oldham ; his first superintendent the 
Rev. John Gaulter. His second circuit was Mac- 



36 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

clesfield, where he remained two years, as at Old- 
ham. At this juncture he attracted the notice of 
the Rev. Dr. Coke, and was selected for the mis- 
sionary work, Dr. Coke designing him for a mis- 
sion at Gibraltar. This arrangement, however, fell 
through, and about the same time he married. From 
Macclesfield our subject was removed to London, 
where he labored with much popularity and suc- 
cess for two years; and was then stationed at 
Manchester. Here he distinguished himself as an 
advocate for ecclesiastical order in a controversy 
with some disaffected Methodists known as the 
" Band-room party." His intimate knowledge and 
just appreciation of the economy of Wesleyan Me- 
thodism, while yet so young, surprised every one, 
and from that time he continued to grow in favor 
with the people, while he also secured, in a won- 
derful degree, the confidence of his brethren. They 
recognized in him one who had made the Wesleyan 
economy his familiar study, endowed with pecu- 
liar administrative talents, capable of taking en- 
larged views ; fertile in expedients for the most sud- 
den and alarming emergencies ; and far sighted in his 
estimate of the future. Their confidence has never 
been withdrawn. When he has been most bit- 
terly assailed from without, in the Conference he has 
been cheered with the most cordial expressions of 
esteem and love. Four times has he been elected 
to the presidency of that body, and as each suc- 
ceeding year rolls round he abundantly justifies 
their confidence, and astonishes his brethren by 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 37 

his intimate and perfect knowledge of the affairs 
of the whole connection, and with the unhesitating 
and almost unerring wisdom that enables him to 
surmount every difficulty, anticipate every necessity, 
counteract all opposition, and satisfy every demand. 
It would seem that Dr. Bunting was born to rule. 
He has every qualification for a ruler ; always well 
maturing his plans before he introduces them, and 
adapting them to the necessities of the time. He 
is never hasty in legislation. Many of his mea- 
sures are known to have slept long within his own 
mind before they were made public ; his intimate 
friends then first perceiving the importance of in- 
quiries seemingly casually addressed to them, or 
to others in their hearing, and the use to which 
the interrogator purposed applying the informa- 
tion thus obtained. It is by this constant seeking 
after knowledge that he has acquired his present 
influence in the councils of the connection. He 
has not been content with barely doing what the 
rules or usage of the body required of him — preach- 
ing his allotted quota of sermons, going the rounds of 
his circuit, &c. — but has laid himself out to perma- 
nently promote the best interests of Methodism. 
For this purpose he has taken a comprehensive 
view of Wesleyan Methodism as the creature of 
providential circumstances, has kept his eye upon 
the entire movements of its vast machinery, and 
familiarized himself with all the details of its opera- 
tions. The knowledge thus obtained he has turned 
to account ; confidence in that knowledge has thus 



38 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

increased, and this again has operated to the in- 
crease of his knowledge ; for men finding that he 
makes it his business to watch over the concerns 
of the body, to a certain extent commit their in- 
terests into his hands : and thus information pours 
in upon him from every quarter ; and however 
minute the details, not one of them is overlooked 
or forgotten. All this knowledge he brings to 
practical account ; marks the bearing of facts 
upon principles, and applies all to the politics of 
Methodism ; making it, in fact, his daily study to 
adapt its economy to the exigencies, and, as far as 
lawful, to the spirit of the times. It is a fact but 
little known, and, by those who have been accus- 
tomed to hear this great man railed at as a priestly 
dictator, not even suspected, that nearly every 
measure which has popularized the institutions of 
Methodism — which has given to the people a more 
liberal representation — has originated with Dr. 
Bunting. "Methodism- as it is" bears on every 
lineament the impress of his enlightened and liberal 
views, while it is immensely indebted to him for 
its almost perfect system of finance. We believe 
we give correct information when we say that some 
seven or eight years ago, when Wesleyan Metho- 
dists were exposed to numerous indignities at the 
hands of certain conceited Puseyite clergymen, the 
subject of our sketch was prepared, perhaps more 
than any other Wesleyan minister, to take a bold 
and open stand against the Established Church, or 
at least to declare separation from it, had not the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 39 

inhumanity of the clergymen in question received 
a sufficient and salutary rebuke in the ecclesias- 
tical courts of the land. 

Such is our estimate of the Rev. Dr. Bunting ; 
and we believe the estimate is not, in any one of 
its favorable aspects, in the least degree overdrawn. 
The world, out of Methodism, does not know him ; 
even some Wesleyans do not understand him ; for 
he has refused to put himself on his defense 
against the groundless accusations with which he 
has been pertinaciously assailed. He has been, 
we had almost said, too indifferent about popu- 
larity. That he courted praise of men, or was in- 
sincere in his advice and counsel to his brethren, 
has never been charged upon him. That he has 
opponents, even in the Conference, cannot be de- 
nied. It is well that he should have. But that 
that opposition is composed of more liberal men 
than himself we are disposed to deny ; while we 
believe that even they will not claim the credit of 
greater attachment to Methodism, or equal famili- 
arity with its economy. We could mention acts 
of Christian Idndness and urbanity to his younger 
brethren in the ministry, and evidences of high- 
toned integrity in seasons of peculiar trial, which 
would make his very enemies praise him, but deli- 
cacy forbids their introduction here ; and we dis- 
miss him with a cordial hope that, though he now 
stands on the verge of threescore years and ten, 
he may be spared " yet a little longer," to preside 
over the vast interests of the denomination which 



40 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

has long, by general consent, placed him at the 
head of its most important institutions. 



The following jeu d' esprit appeared many years ago in 
Leeds, where Dr. Bunting, with great frequency, exercised 
his ministiy in behalf of the various institutions supported 
by the TVesleyan Methodist societies : — 

"BEGGING." 

LINES WRITTEN BY A YORKSHIRE MAN, ON HEARING THE REV. JABEZ 
BUNTING PREACH AT LEEDS. 

They say as how one Jabez Bunting preach'd 

Better than ony man as ever teach'd ; 

Now Fze no Methodist, V heart or mind, 

I like auld Mother Church too iveel, ye find ; 

She '11 let folk go to heaven just as they please. 

But Methodists demand both hands and knees. 

Howe'er, it matters not my standing grunting, 

I went td'd Boggard-house* to hear this Bunting. 

I liked his sarmond, ne'er was a completer ; 

His text was t' fish's mouth and Simon Peter. 

He talk'd as how i tW Scriptures it wor shown 

As all good tilings we have are not our own ; 

Just as he summ'd up all, he said, " My friends, 

The cause before you gloriously tends ; 

The work is great, the heathen ask your aid, 

Give freely, and you '11 freely be repaid ; 

They want the gospel — Britons are its nurses — 

Come forward with your prayers and with your purses ; 

that at last with them we may be found — 
Our friends will please to take the boxes round." 
Thowt I, it 's but a time by chance, Tze willing 
To gie this honest preacher an odd shilling. 

1 did so, and went home ; I teWd my wife 
I ne'er wor better pleased in all my life. 

But then, said I, (and spoke just like an ass,) 
These beggings varry seldom come to pass ; 

* The name of an old Methodist chapel in Leeds. In the dialect 
of Yorkshire the term " boggard " means a ghost : this old chapel was 
formerly said to be haunted ; whence the name by which it is still 
popularly designated. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 41 

Happen, when he 's not begging for this land, 

He talks plain things, just as they come to hand : 

They say next Sunday night but one they '11 meet — 

I '11 go and hear him then— in Albion-street. 

I went ; I liked his sarmond more and more, 

And he concluded sooner than before ; 

Tuke up his hymn-book, skenn'd it at both ends, 

And, to my great amazement, said, " My friends, 

You, and the members of this great connection, 

Will recollect the quarterly collection." 

Thowt I, (and so, I lay, there thowt a many,) 

Begging again ? I '11 gie thee but a penny. 

I did so. Musing, went home. I liked the man ; 

But then I could'nt 'bide tins begging plan. 

Howe'er, thowt I, 1 '11 try him once again ; 

They say next month he '11 preach in Meadow-lane. 

I went wi 1 some suspicion, that 's the truth ; 

He preach'd that night about religious youth : 

Sure wach o' skoels for garnishing he brought, 

Where lads were fed, and teacttd, and clothed for naught. 

One skoeP to great advantage forth he set, 

Then said it wor five hundred pounds in debt. 

Well done, thowt I, a house can't be varry small, 

As hods so many lads, tachers an' all ; 

Howe'er, im? that pray what ha 7 we to do 1 

He paused a moment, and then let us know, — 

" I hope you all your liberal "mites will bring ; 

Our friends will please to gather while we sing." 

Nay, Jabez, nay, this money all things mellows : 

One o' our kine and ye are just right fellows ; 

She always gies a rare good meal, does Clover ; 

But then, like you, she minds to kick it over. 

* Kingswood School 



42 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



3o\)n Smttl). 

"His only righteousness I show, 

His saving truth proclaim ; 
'Tis all my business here below, 

To cry, ' Behold the Lamb !' 
Happy if with my latest breath 

I may but gasp his name ; 
Preach him to all, and cry in death, 

' Behold, behold the Lamb.' "— Wesley. 

The subject of this sketch was distinguished from 
his numerous namesakes, both in and out of the 
British Wesleyan Conference, as " John Smith, the 
revivalist ;" and well did he deserve the implied 
tribute to his zeal and his successful labors. Had 
he been John Smith only, or even "John Smith, 
the 3d," as the Minutes of the Conference had it, 
he had probably lived to this day ; but the revi- 
valist disdained to measure his labors by his phy- 
sical strength, and he died at a comparatively early 
age. A memoir of him was written by his friend, 
Rev. Richard TrefFry, jun., and has been republish- 
ed in this country. It is a book that no man can 
read without feeling that few of the ambassadors 
of Christ have done equal honor to their Master, 
and to the importance of their message, albeit their 
commission runneth in the same terms. Truly he 
presented "his body a living sacrifice unto God." 
John Smith, the revivalist, was a Yorkshireman, 
a native of Cud worth, a village near Barnsley, in 
the West-riding of Yorkshire. His father was a 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 43 

local preacher, of considerable popularity in his 
neighborhood, and deserving of a short notice be- 
fore his son is more fully introduced. Mr. Smith, 
sen., or "Billy Smith," as he was familiarly called, 
was remarkable rather for his zeal, and the warmth 
of his piety, than for the extent of his information 
or the strength of his judgment. In the pulpit 
and in the prayer meeting he was in his element. 
He was a man of one sermon — invariably delivering 
the same discourse, though his texts ranged over 
numerous passages. They were such as admitted 
of easy accommodation, as, " Ye must be born 
again ;" "If any man have not the spirit of Christ 
he is none of his;" "Except ye be converted," &c. 
His preaching, nevertheless, was accompanied with 
such unction from the Holy One, that it was always 
acceptable, and seldom without fruit to the praise 
and glory of God. He was a simple, humble, 
self- distrusting man ; and hence God owned his 
labors, and, by what some would call the foolish- 
ness of preaching, saved them that believed. The 
first time that he occupied the pulpit at Barnsley, 
which was the head of the circuit, he was ensnared 
by the fear of man ; and to avoid embarrassment 
from his novel situation, he closed his eyes, and 
did not reopen them until emboldened by having 
nearly reached the close of his discourse without 
breaking down, when he discovered, what some 
of the younger members of the congregation had 
long been tittering at, that in his agitation he had 
turned his back upon the audience, and had direct- 



44 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

ed alike his words of comfort and his denunciations 
against ungodliness to the naked wall to which 
the pulpit was affixed. 

At later periods the writer often heard Mr. Smith 
preach in the same chapel, and exercise an aston- 
ishing influence over the feelings of his hearers by 
a sermon every word of which was more familiar 
to them than a " thrice- told tale." Sometimes he 
would make confession, on this wise, as to the 
unity of his ministerial teachings : u I wonder, my 
friends, at your coming to hear such a stick as me. 
If I could but preach like my son, or Richard 
Watson, or Dr. Adam Clarke, or any of these great 
men, [the old man's estimate of his son's intellect- 
ual standing would excite a smile,] then I would 
not wonder at your coming. But you all know 
well enough that I have but one sermon," &c. 
Yes ; and we all knew " well enough " the entire 
mechanism of that sermon — literally the " time to 
laugh, and the time to weep ;" for to avoid either 
was no easy matter, often as we had listened to 
the old man's discourse. About five minutes were 
taken up in the introduction ; about fifteen in de- 
scribing "the characters mentioned in the text;" 
then two or three minutes in dove -tailing the latter 
part of the sermon to the former, always in these 
words, and equally uniform in pathos : "And now, 
my friends, if you were all of this description of 
people I should have nowt to do but to tell you to 
go on, and to conclude. But, alas, you are not, 
and," &c. Then from seven to ten minutes would 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 45 

be occupied in "describing the character of the 
unconverted ;" and this would be followed by a 
brief and earnest exhortation, invariably commenc- 
ing with these words, though he had preached 
there only the Sunday before, and had ever so thin 
a congregation — they were, in fact, habitual with 
him, and were only intended figuratively to express 
a general truth, though to the hearer they seemed 
to convey a particular statement — " Ah ! my friends, 
we 've had a monny deeaths at Cud'orth since I 
was here last ; and I see you 've had a monny here 
too. There 's one gone out of that pew, another 
out of that, [pointing in various directions,] and 
another out of that ; and it '11 be your turn 
next," &c. 

Mr. Smith, sen., was a country tailor, "diligently 
working with his hands, that he might provide 
things honest in the sight of all men ;" doing his 
share, also, unostentatiously, in ministering to the 
necessities of such of the household of faith as 
were poorer than himself. Though a simple man, 
he had a good deal of latent humor, and was a 
little impatient of contradiction. Like good old 
Sammy Hick, he had a "comrade through the 
wilderness," who was called "Matty." This good 
woman suffered from a nervous affection for a 
number of years, and finally became a hypochon- 
driac. Her monomania took the form of a belief 
that she should die suddenly in the night ; and as 
the malady increased her husband's rest was sadly 
interrupted by her appeals for help in her (imagi- 



46 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

nary) death-struggles ; though, sooth to say, if re- 
port were correct, these appeals were made with a 
strength of lungs, and an energy, such as do not 
generally exist on the eve of dissolution. The old 
man bore this trial for a long time with exemplary 
patience ; but at length the loss of sleep and the 
excitement threatened seriously to destroy his 
health, upon which depended their temporal sub- 
sistence. He therefore resolved upon a "kill or 
cure " procedure, having probably satisfied him- 
self that the latter was far more likely to be the 
result of his manoeuvre. The next time Matty 
awoke him with the usual exclamation, " O Billy, 
I 'm dying ! I shan't live five minutes !" he simply 
responded, " Praise the Lord ! praise the Lord !" 
This astonished the dying woman not a little ; but 
supposing that he had imperfectly heard or mis- 
understood her, she repeated, with some asperity, 
"I tell you, I'm dying, Billy: you'll lose me." 
"Bless the Lord!" said the husband, with some- 
thing of exultation in his voice ; " Bless the Lord : 
he is going to take her at last ! Glory be to his 
name for his goodness — all this suffering will soon 
be over — praise the Lord ! What a blessed re- 
lease /" This was too much for the old lady, and 
the breaking forth of her indignation was perhaps 
even more of a storm than even her husband cared 
to admit. " you cruel man ! the years that 
we 've lived together ! the wife that I 've been to 
you ! and now to praise God that I 'm dying ! And 
a blessed release too ! O ! Billy ." The re- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 47 

mainder of the sentence was lost in a burst of pas- 
sionate grief. Billy saw that his ruse had told, 
and was determined to cany it through. " Why, 
my lass," said he, "thou sees thou hast often 
wished the Lord would release thee from thy suf- 
ferings, and take thee to himself and to glory ; but 
I always wanted thee to stay a bit longer, and that 
seemed selfishness, and perhaps hindered God from 
granting thy desire : so I have at last made up 
my mind to give thee up, and praise God for thy 
release." Either the shock to Matty's nerves ef- 
fected a cure, (no uncommon thing in such cases,) 
or, on reflection, her good sense triumphed over 
her morbid craving for sympathy and excitement ; 
she saw that her endeared husband had been 
taxed beyond his strength, and thereafter the 
dying hour was devoted to refreshing sleep ; her 
health gradually improved ; and the twain lived 
some years after, jointly walking in all the com- 
mandments of the Lord blameless ; and both, in a 
ripe old age, passed peacefully through the valley 
of death to the heavenly Canaan. 

But we must leave the company of the father 
and return to the son. It must ever be a source 
of deep regret, both for his own and his compa- 
nions' sake, that the early life of John Smith was 
spent in open wickedness. With his impulsive 
disposition, his natural strength of mind, and force 
of character, he could not fail to exert a powerful 
influence, for good or for evil, over all with whom 
he associated ; and as in his early days, notwith- 



48 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

standing the counsels and example of pious pa- 
rents, he became the companion of the ungodly, 
so he had a sad pre-eminence in daring exploits of 
wickedness. These, however, do not come within 
the scope of these sketches. He had a strong 
passion for pugilistic contests, for which his mus- 
cular frame and personal courage eminently fitted 
him, and would travel miles to be present at a 
prize-fight. In all these things his true character 
appeared; he was open, bold, and fearless, dis- 
daining hypocrisy, and never contenting himself 
with half measures. Of these distinguishing traits 
of his character the writer has heard abundant 
evidence in Mr. Smith's native village ; and it was 
necessary thus briefly to allude to them to enable 
the reader to form a just view of the triumph of 
divine grace which will appear in the sequel. God 
had work for him to do, as he had for Saul of 
Tarsus, and was not unmindful of the daily suppli- 
cations of his afflicted parents. In the year 1812, 
John Smith being then in the nineteenth year of 
his age, a revival of religion took place at Cud- 
worth, and, while on a visit to his father's house, 
he came under its gracious influence. At the sab- 
bath evening meeting the strong man was bowed 
down, and cried aloud for mercy in the midst of 
the great congregation. The father was preaching 
in another part of the circuit, but there were pray- 
ing men there who knew how to value a human 
soul, and who knew also that if John Smith were 
converted, he would be a valiant soldier of the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 49 

cross. These wrestled with him mightily in prayer ; 
yet the young man returned to his father's house 
without any mitigation of his distress. But his 
purpose was fixed ; at home he continued wrest- 
ling and groaning in the agony of his spirit, and 
refusing to be comforted, until God, against whom 
he had sinned, should assure him of pardon. I 
have more than once heard Mr. Smith, senior, tell, 
with streaming eyes, of his joy that night, when, 
returning from his appointment, he found his son 
John and another of his children wrestling for 
mercy under his roof. " We thought not of sleep 
or rest that night, until God spoke peace to my 
poor prodigal son," said the old man, " and then 
we were all too happy to sleep." 

But these reminiscences must be passed over, 
and Mr. Smith, as an English Wesleyan preacher, 
must be placed before the reader. It was origi- 
nally intended that ]fe should enter the mission 
field, and it was proposed to him that he should 
supply a vacancy in the Island of Ceylon. To this 
he heartily agreed, and the consent of his parents 
was obtained ; but on consultation with a medical 
gentleman, the project was abandoned on account 
of his health, which had already suffered from in- 
tense study and arduous labor. In 1816 he en- 
tered upon the itinerant ministry, in the York cir- 
cuit. At the commencement of his itinerancy he 
did not give any promise of that remarkable use- 
fulness which subsequently distinguished him, but 
was endeared to all by the simplicity and frank- 

4 



50 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

ness of his character, and the earnestness and sin- 
cerity of his piety. It was in the year 1828 that 
the writer of this first heard him preach. He was 
then in the height of his popularity and usefulness, 
and in comparative health and vigor. He preached 
on the morning and evening of the sabbath-day, 
and held a public prayer meeting in the afternoon. 
He had, by the way, attended the " band meet- 
ing " on the previous evening, and the people had 
had a foretaste of what they might expect. That 
sabbath was a day not to be forgotten in a man's 
life-time. I was much impressed with a peculi- 
arity which is noticed by Mr. Treffry in his Me- 
moir — the deep reverence and feeling with which 
he repeated the Lord's Prayer — in which respect 
how many ministers of religion would do well to 
imitate his example, and do equal honor to Him 
who gave that form to his disciples ! Among the 
English Wesleyan preachers this prayer is invari- 
ably repeated at the close of the first prayer in 
each service, probably thinking that as the Son of 
God framed the prayer, it is likely to be more 
comprehensive than any words of mere man's de- 
vice — that it may possibly embrace something 
which they have omitted — that it is no more anti- 
quated than the gospel which they labor to pro- 
mulgate — and that if Christ has not commanded its 
use, it yet is but due to our all-prevalent Interces- 
sor and High Priest, that as often as possible our 
supplications should be summed up in the words of 
the prayer he has bequeathed us. From the lips 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 51 

of Mr. Smith it was not a mere form of prayer — it 
was prayer itself. The whole congregation seemed 
suddenly to have discovered a new meaning in 
those supplications, and as the preacher's voice 
trembled with emotion it seemed as though he had 
laid hold of the divine strength, and was bringing 
God down to earth ; responses increased in fervor 
in all directions, and when he came to the closing 
ascription — " for thine is the kingdom, and the 
power, and the glory, for ever" — the people were 
overwhelmed by the manifestation of the divine 
presence, and, for several seconds after the " Amen" 
was pronounced, suppressed murmurings of holy 
joy lingered on hundreds of lips, while tears of in- 
expressible delight suffused the eyes of others who 
felt 

" The speechless awe which dares not move, 
And all the silent heaven of love." 

The subject of Mr. Smith's discourse was per- 
sonal holiness — entire sanctification of heart. No 
man could speak more experimentally of this 
great doctrine, which is universally held by the 
English Methodist preachers, and is made promi- 
nent in their preaching. With our present subject 
it was a favorite theme, especially in his morning 
discourses, and was set forth with a clearness of 
exposition, and an accumulation of experimental 
and Scriptural evidence, which left without excuse 
any one who had not entered into this perfect rest 
of the soul. He himself lived in that high frame 
of spiritual-mindedness, attained but by very few, 



52 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

in which he could employ, with perfect truth, the 
strong language of the poet, — 

" 'Tis worse than death my God to love, 
And not my God alone." 

The reader must not suppose that Mr. Smith, in 
insisting upon "holiness unto the Lord," indulged 
in anything like imperiousness or exclusiveness : 
for though his mind was of a remarkably mascu- 
line character, having little flexibility, and either 
disdained the minor points of an argument, or was 
incompetent to appreciate or expatiate upon them — 
contenting itself with fastening upon conclusions 
rather than with detailing the process of thought — 
the preacher seeming to find his authority in " thus 
saith the Lord," and demanding a hearing on that 
rather than on any other ground ; yet when he 
spoke of perfect love and a clean heart he was 
tender and encouraging in an extraordinary degree, 
thereby affording the evidence of the doctrines he 
taught, and giving proof that entire holiness made 
its possessor " like-minded with Christ;" tender 
and compassionate in spirit as the Redeemer of 
souls. The first part of the sermon consisted prin- 
cipally of textual proof of the doctrine, and was 
brief, pointed, and unanswerable ; then followed a 
concise statement of the nature and process of 
" entire sanctification," and the means of its attain- 
ment : the ground thus cleared, he next showed the 
necessity and blessedness of such a state of the 
affections, and encouraged believers to plunge, with- 
out doubting, into the fathomless depths of divine 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 53 

love. And now the man began to appear. Pas- 
sionate remonstrance with the lukewarm, vehement 
expostulation with the doubting, irresistible en- 
couragement to those who were seeking, and joy- 
ous exultation and sympathy with those who had 
obtained the second deliverance, alternately fell in 
torrents from his lips ; and before he had concluded 
his discourse a holy flame was kindled through the 
congregation, the house was filled with the glory 
of God, and, unable longer to control their emo- 
tions or restrain the buoyant and expanding love 
which filled their hearts, one, and another, and 
another, and others yet again, broke out in shouts 
of " Glory," and " Hallelujah," until the house 
rang with the voice of joy and triumph as believer 
after believer entered into perfect love. It was 
with the utmost difficulty that the congregation 
was dismissed. The concluding prayer was offered 
and the benediction pronounced, yet a few only 
rose from their knees. Again Mr. Smith engaged 
in prayer with vehement wrestling ; others believed 
and were baptized " with the Holy Spirit and with 
fire sent down from heaven. " For awhile it seem- 
ed as though Christ had taken unto himself his 
great power, and was about to assert his supremacy 
in all hearts ; and it was only from absolute necessity, 
both for the preacher's sake and from a due regard 
to the remaining services of the day, that at length 
the congregation separated, praising God and 
making melody in their hearts as they went to 
their respective homes. 



54 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

At the prayer meeting, in the afternoon, the 
chapel was again crowded. Mr. Smith was at his 
post, engaging in prayer some seven or eight times 
at intervals during the service, each time wrestling 
with God as though he felt that the salvation of 
the whole congregation depended upon an imme- 
diate answer to his supplications ; and between 
these seasons actively engaged in encouraging those 
who were seeking for pardon or holiness. If ever 
man was in " agony of prayer," or wrestled with 
the energy of Jacob as the breaking day warned 
him that he must now or never prevail, thus ago- 
nized and wrestled Mr. Smith that afternoon. He 
was a man mighty in prayer, to a degree that has 
perhaps never been surpassed in modern times. 
Even his then robust and muscular frame seemed 
scarcely equal to the earnest, vehement struggles of 
his soul. Toward the close of the meeting, when 
penitents were crying aloud in the disquietude of 
their souls, and believers, with scarcely less agony, 
were seeking a deeper baptism of the Holy Spirit, 
his powerful voice might still be heard above the 
blended weeping and rejoicing, calling upon God 
for a larger blessing, " a pentecostal shower," pour- 
ing out his soul on behalf of the broken hearted, 
his frame now positively quivering with emotion, 
and anon his benevolent features beaming with 
grateful joy as a penitent's mourning was turned 
into joy, or a believer received the grace of entire 
sanctification. The meeting was closed at an ad- 
vanced hour, barely allowing the preacher time for 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 55 

refreshment before the evening service, while the 
majority of the people never left the chapel, but 
continued in prayer and supplication during the 
brief interval. 

The evening service partook of the nature of the 
preceding ones, and need only be alluded to as de- 
veloping another phase of Mr. Smith's preaching — 
his character as a Boanerges. He must have been 
a stout-hearted sinner who could withstand his de- 
nunciations of the ungodly, or did not quail be- 
neath his representations of the divine wrath 
against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men, 
and his vindication of the justice of God in the 
eternal punishment of the finally impenitent. The 
effect of that evening's sermon was overpowering ; 
not so much — and the remark applies to his preach- 
ing generally — from the employment of strong lan- 
guage, as from the thoroughly masculine and con- 
secutive train of thought with which it was im- 
pregnated from the beginning to the end. 

The defect of Mr. Smith's preaching, if defect it 
could be called, was a paucity of language, a too 
rigid conciseness of expression, and condensation 
of thought. His sermons were short, not because 
they were deficient in matter, but because that mat- 
ter was compressed into the smallest compass possi- 
ble ; it was the solid gold, rather than the beaten 
leaf; it made little show, but had great intrinsic value. 
Such were his views of the lost and perishing condi- 
tion of the world, and of the responsibilities of the 
ministerial office — the imperious obligation resting 



56 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

upon the ambassador of Christ to seek only to recon- 
cile men to God — that he lost sight of his reputa- 
tion as a preacher in the overwhelming desire to 
be faithful to his ambassadorial trust. It was re- 
marked, by one who knew him well, that " it was 
from no inability to construct a regular and ex- 
panded discourse, according to the taste and prac- 
tice of the day, that he confined himself to the 
simple but fervid and impressive style which he 
adopted. At the commencement of his ministerial 
career his sermons were more elaborate," and he 
was induced to alter his plan from " a conviction 
that thereby the great end of preaching would be 
more fully accomplished. The change, therefore, 
was one of principle ; and for the sake of this he 
was content to forego the reputation of advantages 
which even the spiritual part of the church are too 
apt to magnify and deem indispensable, and to 
acquiesce willingly in being thought destitute of 
talents which he could not but be conscious were 
in his power. I know no harder lesson which hu- 
mility can teach or self-denial submit to learn." 

Let it not be supposed, however, that there was 
a lack of order or system in Mr. Smith's sermons ; 
he eschewed all adornment, yet he studied closely 
and labored assiduously in the preparation of his 
pulpit discourses, especially in the latter years of 
his ministry, but his study was to do without what 
so many teachers study to acquire. Taking suc- 
cess — the conversion of sinners and the building up 
of believers in their holy faith — as the criterion by 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 57 

which the comparative excellence of the two modes 
of procedure are to be judged, the verdict must be 
given in favor of Mr. Smith ; and to him the reward 
will be given at the last day. He was eminently- 
successful in the awakening of those who had been 
accustomed to sit under the preached gospel for 
years without emotion. One of this class, in whose 
salvation Mr. Smith was instrumental, observed 
that he had long been accustomed to listen to a 
sermon as he would to a literary essay or a scienti- 
fic lecture, but that Mr. Smith's preaching he could 
not treat thus — it compelled him to reflect — a con- 
fession that speaks volumes to every man whom 
God hath " counted faithful, putting him into the 
ministry." 

The subject of our sketch was as truly a " preach- 
er of righteousness" out of the pulpit as in it. 
There is in the present day much less free and con- 
fiding conversation among professing Christians on 
the subject of personal experience in religion than 
in former times. This evil has to an alarming ex- 
tent crept into class meetings, where it was origi- 
nally designed that nothing but " experience " should 
be introduced ; instead of which, general statements 
of religious sentiments, and exhortations to the 
other members, are now the order of the day, and 
the leader, learning little or nothing of the present 
spiritual state of his members, is of necessity com- 
pelled to generalize also. They who in the privacy 
and confidence of a class meeting will not " declare 
what the Lord hath done for their souls," are not 



58 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

likely to do so elsewhere, and the evil has thus 
become general. It was Mr. Smith's fidelity in 
this branch of duty that made his intercourse with 
the members productive of so much good. ~No 
man or woman could be long in his company with- 
out having the subject brought home, though it 
was never done offensively, rarely abruptly, and 
then only when circumstances fully justified it. 
Almost numberless instances might be given of 
the good resulting from his faithfulness in this 
respect. One or two shall be related ; many others 
may be found in Mr. Treffry's Memoir ; but, until 
the day when God shall number up his jewels, the 
half will not be told. He never entered a dwelling 
— humble cottage or stately mansion — without 
leaving the savor of this grace behind. The fol- 
lowing is strikingly characteristic of the man. When 
dining at the house of a wealthy member of the 
society, a lady sat next to him, with whom he en- 
tered into conversation, gradually introducing the 
subject of religion, of which the lady was knoion 
to be a professor. She took offense at his inqui- 
ries, and resented them with some asperity, and 
in a manner scarcely becoming her sex or station 
in society. Mr. Smith waited till she was silent, 
then casting upon her a look of inexpressible and 
compassionate concern, he said, " Madam, you may 
spit in my face if you please, but you cannot pre- 
vent me from loving your soul." The arrow en- 
tered : the words proved to be " as a nail fastened 
by the Master of assemblies." 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 59 

When he visited in his pastoral character, the 
effects of his intercourse with the people were 
truly wonderful. Then there needed no circum- 
locution to reach the object nearest to his heart, 
but, waiving all other subjects, he would enter at 
once upon his beloved theme; and having by a 
few direct inquiries ascertained the spiritual state 
of each member of the family, never forgetting 
those so often overlooked in pastoral visitations, 
the domestics, Anglice, servants, he would know 
no peace until in answer to prayer they each be- 
came assured of a personal interest in Christ, and 
all were made 

" Partners of like precious faith." 

Others again, in their distress of mind, would 
visit him at his own house ; and he was always " at 
home" to these, taking them into his study, coun- 
seling them, and praying with them until God 

" set their souls at liberty 
By his victorious love." 

Constant communion with God was at the foun- 
dation of Mr. Smith's great usefulness. In this 
he was surpassed by none of any age. Whole 
nights were often given up to prayer, and always, 
when in anything like moderate health — often too 
when wasted by painful disease — he arose at four 
o'clock in the morning, and throwing himself be- 
fore the mercy-seat, for three hours wrestled with 
God in mighty prayer. The writer has heard, 
from persons in whose houses he has been tempo- 



60 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

rarily residing, that in the coldest winter morning 
they have heard him at that hour with suppressed 
voice pleading with God, while his groans have 
revealed the intensity of his feelings. Immedi- 
ately after breakfast and family worship, he would 
again retire with his Bible into his study, and 
spend until near noon in the same hallowed em- 
ployment. Here unquestionably was the great 
secret of his power in public prayer and in preach- 
ing — the Lord, who seeth in secret, rewarding 
him openly. Every sermon was thus sanctified 
by prayer. On one occasion, when at a country 
appointment, the time for commencing the service 
had elapsed, and Mr. Smith did not make his ap- 
pearance. He had left the house where he was a 
guest, about half an hour before, after being some 
time in his closet. At length he was found in an 
adjoining barn wrestling in prayer for a bless- 
ing upon the approaching sendee ; having retired 
thither that unobserved he might pour out his full 
soul before his heavenly Father. He arose, briefly 
expressed his regret at not having observed the 
lapse of time, and on the way to the chapel re- 
lapsed into silent prayer. 

During the sermon that evening the fervent 
prayer of the righteous man proved effectual. The 
Spirit of God descended upon the congregation ; 
the deep attentive silence observed at the com- 
mencement of the discourse was soon interrupted 
by sobs and moans, and these ere long were fol- 
lowed by loud and piercing cries for mercy, as, one 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 61 

after another, the hearers were pricked to the 
heart, and the strongholds of Satan were beaten 
down, until, so universal was the cry of the broken- 
hearted, that Mr. Smith found it necessary to de- 
sist from preaching and descend into the altar. As 
he had continued his discourse for some time after 
its remarkable effects first showed themselves, 
there was considerable confusion for want of a 
leading and controlling spirit, and the disorder 
was rapidly increasing ; but when he descended 
from the pulpit and took charge of the meeting, 
his admirable plans and great influence, aided by 
a voice almost equal to the roar of thunder, soon 
wrought a change, and in perfect order, though 
not in silence, the meeting, was continued until 
midnight. Whatever apparent confusion there 
might be in these meetings, they were, actually, 
conducted systematically. Mr. Smith had his 
method amid all the surrounding excitement, and 
he never delegated the control to another, but was 
the last to retire from the scene of the Redeemer's 
triumphs. 

An anecdote was related in the hearing of the 
writer by Rev. James Methley, and is also mentioned 
by Mr. Treffry, which annihilated in the minds of all 
who heard it whatever feelings were entertained 
adverse to the course adopted by this holy man. 
While he was stationed in the Windsor circuit, he 
was attending an anniversary at Canterbury, where 
his friend and schoolfellow, Mr. Methley, was sta- 
tioned. At this time Mr. Smith's labors were 



62 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

almost superhuman, and his constitution was mani- 
festly giving way under them. It was resolved 
by his brethren, that he should be affectionately 
remonstrated with, and Mr. Methley was deputed 
to introduce the subject. At the supper table a 
favorable opportunity presented itself, and Mr. 
Methley opened the matter to him. The friend- 
ship between them was strong and ardent ; they 
were both men of noble, generous natures. Mr. 
Smith laid down his knife and fork, and listened to 
his friend with affectionate respect ; then, bursting 
into tears, he replied, " I know it all. I ought to 
put a restraint upon myself. But what can I do ? 
God has given me such a view of the perishing 
condition of sinners that I can only find relief in 
the way I do — in entreating them to come to Christ, 
and wrestling with God to save them." And 
then, his feelings overcoming him, he paused a 
few moments, and added, "Look around you, my 
dear friend and brother ; do you not see sinners 
perishing on every hand, and must they not be 
saved ? do not seek to turn me from my pur- 
pose ; for while I thus see and feel, I am compelled 
to act as I do." All were silenced, and all were 
melted into tears ; — Mr. Methley being so over- 
come that he was compelled abruptly to leave the 
room. " Never," said Mr. M., his eyes filling with 
tears at the recollection ; " never shall I forget that 
evening. Often was I applied to afterward, as 
known to be his friend, to use my influence to ar- 
rest his self-sacrifice ; but I could not do it ; my 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 63 

mouth was closed ; I dared not say a word ; the 
expression of his countenance that evening re- 
mains with me to this day." 

Mr. Smith's personal appearance is not easily 
described. To the last, though mixing with the 
best society, he retained much of his rustic ap- 
pearance. His countenance was oval, very slightly 
elongated. The features were firmly set, rarely 
changing except under strong emotion ; yet the 
expression of his countenance underwent frequent 
and rapid variations, and these variations baffle 
description. Sometimes the ruling sentiment — as 
joy, grief, pity, sympathy — would seem to be dif- 
fused over the surface of the countenance, irradiat- 
ing the whole face; and again it would finger 
about the lips and eyes only. The general ex- 
pression, or the repose, was a union of guilelessness, 
benevolence, and decision. The hair was brown : 
whiskers inclining to sandy, and trimmed close. 
His height was about five feet ten or eleven inches ; 
his frame firmly knit, and muscular, and manifestly 
capable, with ordinary prudence, of severe and 
long- continued labor, though the neck was a little 
too long, and the shoulders rather narrow. Judg- 
ing by the Scripture rule of reward hereafter to 
those who have turned many to righteousness, his 
glorified body will shine with unwonted lustre in 
the city that hath foundations, whose builder and 
maker is God. 



64 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



lotyn Comas. 

M Thy words had such a melting flow, 
And spoke of truth so sweetly well, 
They dropp'd like Heaven's serenest snow, 
And all was brightness where they fell." 

The subject of this sketch (who is a son of the 
late Rev. Robert Lomas, many years " Book Stew- 
ard ") must be nearly fifty years of age, as he en- 
tered the ministry in 1820, and I presume was 
then twenty-one or twenty-two years old. For 
many years he has been all but totally blind ; for 
which reason, as some suppose, he has remained a 
bachelor. Another reason, however, having more 
to do with the heart than the eyes, has been as- 
signed for his continuance in a state of " single 
blessedness/' if there be any blessedness in such 
solitude of the affections. He is always stationed, 
notwithstanding his singleness, as a married man, 
a beloved and devoted sister acting as his house- 
keeper. The comfort and quiet of a home are ne- 
cessary for him : his sensitive nature would shrink 
from being burdensome to strangers, or even friends. 
Warm and generous, and" remarkably sociable, his 
mind is nevertheless delicately constructed, and he 
is occasionally subject to great mental depression. 
In the hope of recovering his eyesight he has 
submitted to remedial operations : in one instance 
with partial, but, alas ! only temporary, benefit. 
But for this deprivation of the most important inlet 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 65 

of knowledge, he would probably have outstripped 
his contemporaries in his favorite studies — theology 
and mental and intellectual philosophy. Even with 
this serious disadvantage he takes high rank as a 
preacher, and is a " workman that needeth not to 
be ashamed. " He possesses brilliant wit, (never 
employed otherwise than playfully,) the scintilla- 
tions of which add an indescribable charm to his 
social converse and his platform addresses. 

The writer first saw and heard Mr. Lomas at a 
missionary meeting in Bridge water- street Chapel, 
Manchester, some ten or eleven years ago. His 
personal appearance was prepossessing. He is 
about five feet six inches in height ; of fair com- 
plexion ; the eyebrows, and still more so the eye- 
lashes, very light colored ; the head massive, and 
at that time well covered with hair a few shades 
darker than flaxen. A pleasant smile played around 
the mouth ; the face was round rather than full, 
though at a later period it had assumed the latter 
character, with strongly defined lines. The frame, 
for its height, was broad, but compact ; his voice 
not strong, but clear and musical ; and his utter- 
ance slow and syllabic at the commencement of his 
address. This syllabic utterance is carried to excess 
when he reads the hymns in public worship, and 
was probably first acquired when his sight began 
to fail. 

Mr. Lomas's favorite mode of opening an address 
at a missionary meeting, or on any similar occasion, 
is by some brief remarks — a sort of running com- 



66 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

mentary — upon the sentiments or personal charac- 
teristics of preceding speakers ; often bringing his 
wit pleasantly into play, but never wounding the 
feelings or detracting from the excellences of his 
brethren. The meeting to which I have referred 
was exceedingly favorable to this kind of pleasantry, 
on account of the great diversity of gifts possessed 
by those who had spoken before Mr. L. It was 
presided over by a layman, a wealthy, liberal, and 
influential member of the Methodist Society, of a 
warm and generous nature, blessed with good 
sense, and distinguished by piety at once ardent 
and practical. He opened the meeting in a short 
and lively address ; and was followed in highly 
characteristic speeches by the Rev. Messrs. Robert 
Wood, George Steward, Philip Garrett, and Fred- 
erick J. Jobson. 

The Rev. Robert Wood is introduced to the 
reader in another part of this volume. 

The Rev. George Steward is in my judgment, 
and I have heard leading ministers and laymen in 
the connection express the same opinion, one of 
the greatest men, intellectually, in the English 
Wesleyan ministry at the present day. Unfortu- 
nately he labors under physical disadvantages 
which becloud to the popular view his great pow- 
ers. He is a prey to super-sensibility ; timid ; 
awkard in his manner, both in the pulpit and on 
the platform — in the latter case excessively so ; 
and sometimes labors under such oppression from 
nervousness, (or at one time did,) that only strong 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 67 

principle, and a conviction of duty, enabled him to 
appear before the people in the discharge of his 
ministry. But he has a heart full of the tenderest 
sympathies and the kindest affections. When he 
is in a happy mood, it is perfect enjoyment, re- 
ligiously and intellectually, to listen to him. He 
pours forth an overwhelming torrent of eloquence, 
richly impregnated with the marrow and fatness 
of gospel truth. Strength and range of thought, 
and majesty of diction, distinguish all his best efforts. 
An intelligent friend, familiar with the ministry of 
the late Rev. Robert Hall, observed to me that in 
many respects Mr. Steward resembled him ; and 
he knew not to which to yield the palm when each 
was in his happiest vein. 

The Rev. Philip Garrett, since deceased, was 
of another mold. He was remarkable for strong 
common sense, and a sterling frankness of character 
which disdained the least approach to affectation, 
and scorned subterfuge or concealment of any 
kind. To these he was an uncompromising foe ; 
and, however plausibly an excuse or a sophism 
might be presented, could readily distinguish the 
real from the assigned motive. Some idea of Mr. 
Garrett's character may be gathered from the fol- 
lowing anecdote. At a certain district meeting, 
nearly every preacher requested permission to at- 
tend the Conference, which was that year to be 
held in London, and gave his reasons in support 
of his request. (Here it may be observed, that, as 
the circuit system universally prevails in England, 



68 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

all the preachers are not permitted to attend the 
Conference ; it being deemed prejudicial to the 
interests of the societies to leave them without a 
ministry and pastoral oversight for the three weeks 
during which the Conference is in session.) Some 
of the reasons were so frivolous that Mr. Garrett, 
who had not asked permission, could no longer 
silently listen to them. Springing to his feet, he 
exclaimed, in a tone of voice that startled all into 
silence, and effectually secured the attention of the 
chairman, " Sir, / claim to go to Conference. I 
am an older man than many whose claims have 
been allowed. But that I do not press. I have 
another reason, as good as nine -tenths of those 
that have already been urged. Sir, I must go to 
Conference, because — I want to set my watch by 
St. PauVs" Of course the speaker's meaning was 
easily understood; and there was a remarkable 
scarcity of frivolous representations on that subject 
during the remainder of the session. 

Mr. Garrett, though a self-taught man, (he was 
a ship-carpenter before he entered the ministry,) 
was a sound theologian, and had acquired con- 
siderable proficiency in many branches of know- 
ledge. Astronomy was his favorite study ; and in 
that science his attainments were great. He was 
an intimate friend of Dr. Adam Clarke, and as- 
sisted in the preparation of some of the valuable 
tables which enrich that great man's Commentary. 
Though by no means an elegant speaker, he always 
employed terse and forcible language ; was an ac- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 69 

ceptable and useful, and, to some extent, a popular 
preacher ; and was a bold and vigorous thinker. 
He often availed himself, as at this meeting, of his 
astronomical knowledge with happy effect. 

The Rev. Frederick J. Jobson differed greatly 
from each of the others. He was then quite a 
young man, in the first or second year of his itine- 
rancy, full of zeal, and exceedingly popular, for his 
brilliant genius flashed light upon every subject he 
discussed. At that time he spoke with astonishing 
rapidity, his vivid imagination and full heart sup- 
plying him with more matter than his tongue could 
utter ; and it was not an unusual thing for him, 
solely from the vehement, impetuous rush of his 
overwrought feelings, to be completely embarrassed 
and compelled to resume his seat without finishing 
his address. It was so on this occasion. His ex- 
cited feelings mastered him ; the steed ran away, 
fire flashed from its nostrils, and in the attempt to 
curb him the rider was thrown. Mr. Jobson re- 
tains his popularity to this day, and " much speak- 
ing " has given him more perfect self-control. 

Here, then, Mr. Lomas found material for his 
favorite mode of introduction. He commenced by 
saying that the meeting had assumed a decidedly 
sectarian character ; that any person who had been 
listening at the door while his brethren were speak- 
ing would unavoidably conclude, " ! that is a 
Methodist meeting/ ' If the listener knew any- 
thing about the distinctive features of Methodism, 
he could not come to any other conclusion. He 



70 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

(the speaker) must be frank enough to say it, the 
meeting had undeniably been strongly marked by 
sectarian features. 

The preceding speakers began to look a little 
uncomfortable, and to exchange glances, a state 
of things which, though, alas ! he saw it not, Mr. 
Lomas well knew would be excited ; for sectarian- 
ism, as the term is usually understood, was about 
the last sin of which those men could be rightfully 
accused — they were men of large and liberal hearts. 
After thus teazing them for a few seconds, the arch 
expression of his countenance being seen only by 
the congregation, for to them his face was turned, 
he proceeded in a strain of lively, sparkling wit, 
which memory will not enable me to transfer to paper 
at this distance of time^ to give his reasons for call- 
ing it a sectarian meeting. These were that each 
speaker represented some characteristic peculiarity 
of Methodism. As, for instance, the hearty co- 
operation of intelligent laymen with the duly ap- 
pointed ministry, was seen in the person of the 
chairman ; method and careful calculation, the well- 
weighed adaptation of means to the end, were 
shown in the style and matter of Mr. Wood's ad- 
dress ; great conceptions and the enunciation of 
mighty principles, in the address of Mr. Steward ; 
genius, self-tuition, and the " pursuit of knowledge 
under difficulties,' ' were characteristics exhibited 
by Mr. Garrett ; while, continued Mr. Lomas, " all 
acknowledge, both foes and friends, that Method- 
ism is remarkable for zeal, and certainly that feature 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 71 

was represented most fully by my friend Mr. Job- 
son, who is a very living bonfire." The hit was 
so palpable that the soubriquet of " the living bon- 
fire" was Mr. Jobson's distinction so long as he 
remained in the circuit. 

Mr. Lomas here found a theme for the beautiful 
and soul-stirring address which followed. After 
acknowledging that some of the sparks from his 
brother's fire had fallen upon his own heart, and 
enkindled anew the love for souls that he trusted 
would ever burn there, he dwelt with inimitable 
sweetness upon the nature and effects of true 
Christian zeal, showed that it was at the founda- 
tion of all God-approved missionary efforts, and, 
rightly governed and directed, was the measure 
and guaranty of all success in the conversion of the 
world to God. Many a smoldering fire was that 
night fanned into a flame, and many a wearied, 
fainting soldier of the cross again buckled on his 
armor, seized with firmer grasp the sword of the 
Spirit and the shield of faith, and resolved, heartily 
and for life, to co-operate in the subjugation of the 
world to Christ. 

Some years subsequently I heard Mr. Lomas 
preach twice on the sabbath-day. The subject of 
the morning discourse was the twenty-third Psalm. 
The sermon was truly a "feast of fat things, of 
wine on the lees, well refined." It was emphati- 
cally, what at least every Sunday morning dis- 
course should he, food for the soul — " the bread of 
life sent down from heaven," meted out by God's 



' 



72 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

almoner, with wise liberality, and with a depth of 
feeling that seemed to say, " / have eaten thereof, 
and know that it is sweet.' ' It appeared as though 
the preacher had for a lifetime mused upon the 
Psalm in the solitude of his partial darkness, until 
to his faith's interior eye every sentence beamed 
with light, and to his gladdened heart each word 
became instinct with power and strong consolation. 
Perfect as the discourse was in all its parts, and, as 
a whole, it appeared less a sermon than the over- 
flow of an exhaustless fountain ; the welling up of 
streams of grace and truth from the depths of a 
heart upon which shone, uninterruptedly, the sun- 
light of Jehovah's countenance ; and the devout 
hearer, losing sight of the preacher, because the 
preacher had lost sight of himself, received those 
streams into his heart, as flowing directly from the 
throne of God and of the Lamb : they were to him 
as the " pure river of the water of life, clear as 
crystal," and refreshing to his soul. Or further to 
illustrate the impression (varied, as the preacher 
proceeded) made by that sermon, it seemed as 
though each sentence of his text was a beautiful 
and lustrous casket, within which were jewels, 
gleaming with intensest brilliancy as the man of 
God unlocked the casket and for a moment held 
them up before the people, and spoke of their 
worth ; and anon emitting countless rays of ineffa- 
ble brightness and glory as he scattered them 
among the people, saying, in effect, " All are yours, 
for ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 73 

The sermon was full, from first to last, of ex- 
perimental religion. It was evident that from the 
fullness of the heart the mouth spake. The former 
part of the discourse was expository, the preacher 
taking up the verses seriatim, and musing aloud — 
I had almost said, so little effort seemed necessary — 
on the richness and force of the Psalmist's language. 
Having thus passed through the whole Psalm, he 
recommenced with the first verse and treated it 
topically, showing that it gave to the believer as- 
surance of protection, supply, peace, guidance, 
abundance, ultimate triumph, and everlasting glory ; 
and finally pressed upon his hearers the cultiva- 
tion of that faith and those holy sentiments which 
had prompted the Psalmist to the fervent and glad 
expressions contained in the Psalm. Yet there 
was no tautology — all was freshness and force; 
and the language, as is always the case, both in his 
sermons and speeches, eminently chaste and beau- 
tiful. The great charms of Mr. Lomas's preaching 
are the chaste simplicity of his style, and the fresh- 
ness which he always imparts to any subject he 
takes up. He is never common-place, though his 
discourses are generally upon practical and experi- 
mental subjects. Another remarkable beauty of 
his style is his felicitous imagery, rarely elaborately 
wrought out, but merely introduced for illustra- 
tion's sake. Playing upon the word "dwell" in 
the last verse of the Psalm, he observed, " Here 
we live in tents, the poles of which are set in sand, 
ever shifting and changing, but there we shall dwell 



74 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

in the house of the Lord /or ever" &c. His whole 
sermon was luminous with such gems, at once 
sparkling and profitable, because, by their exceed- 
ing appositeness as illustrations, they secured a 
permanent lodgment in the hearer's mind. 

The evening discourse, the text of which I can- 
not now recollect, was of a different, and, intellect- 
ually, a higher order. The subject was some 
branch of moral duty. The man who in the morn- 
ing was calm, contemplative, and winning, sprink- 
ling the garden of the Lord with the sweet pellucid 
waters of consolation, was now vehement and tower- 
ing with the majesty of his theme, breaking through 
the subterfuges of the infidel, and appealing with 
resistless energy to the heart, while he made his 
whole subject clear and incontrovertible to the in- 
tellect of those who heard him. Rarely have I 
known such impressive stillness — the deep atten- 
tion of awakened interest rather than the intense 
silence of excited feeling — as attended the de- 
livery of that sermon. Men seemed unwilling to 
lose an idea or even a word, so essential to the 
completeness of the whole seemed the minutest de- 
tails. 

Since then I have occasionally heard Mr. Lomas, 
always with pleasure and profit : but it is not ne- 
cessary that I should further dwell upon his style. 
By his brethren in the ministry he is highly esteem- 
ed, and in private life justly admired. In his social 
intercourse few are more pleasing and engaging. 
All his friends love him. His sociability and cheer- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. *T5 

fulness, in spite of his calamity, bind all hearts to 
him. As " a wise traveler, he goeth on cheerily ; 
he knoweth that his journey must be sped, so he 
carrieth his sunshine with him." To him " sharp 
suspicion, dull distrust, and sullen, stern morose- 
ness," are unknown. The lamented Fisk and he 
were wont to indulge in intellectual conversational 
gladiatorship on subjects on which Englishmen do 
not think as Americans do, always pleasantly and 
to the delight of those who heard them. Doubt- 
less when Mr. Lomas shall have passed over the 
narrow stream that now divides them, they will 
converse in even sweeter strains upon that essential 
truth on which they thought alike ; they shall talk 
of Him who redeemed them, and dwell in the 
brightness of his glory for ever and ever. 



76 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



Ektyarlr H^ce, 



11 Behold a patriarch of years, who leaneth on the staff of religion, 
His heart is flesh, quick to feel ; * * * 

Lofty aspirations, deep affections, holy hopes, are his delight." 

Proverbial Philosophy. 

This gentleman will probably be remembered by 
American Methodists as one of the delegates in 
1824, (Mr., now Dr., Hannah, being his colleague,) 
from the British Conference to the General Confer- 
ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He be- 
came a supernumerary at the Conference of 1846 ; 
prior to when he was not only the oldest effective 
preacher among the English Wesleyans, but also 
the oldest Methodist preacher in full and regular 
itinerancy in the world. * At the time of his re- 
tirement from the itinerancy there were still living 
four who became traveling preachers before he 
was called out, and two who entered upon the 
work in the same year with him, but these were 
all superannuated before 1846. One could easily 
imagine Mr. Reece's personal appearance to re- 
semble strongly that of the ancient patriarchs — a 
lovely blending of beauty, authority, and courtesy 

* Mr. Reece traveled, without interruption, for a longer period 
than any other Methodist preacher — no less than fifty-nine years. 
Those who came nearest to him in the duration of their itinerant 
labors were Thomas Taylor of the British Conference, and George 
Pickering of the New-England Conference, each of whom com- 
pleted fifty-six years. The next longest is Richard Waddy of the 
British Conference, who was an effective preacher fifty-three years. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 11 

— tall, ruddy-complexioned, and locks white as 
snow. His entire carriage is very dignified, and 
he is not always accessible. He has a high sense 
of personal honor, exacts all the respect due to his 
years, and is warm to resent a personal insult, or 
even an undue familiarity. A proof of this oc- 
curred at the Assizes held in the city of York. 
Mr. Reece's house was entered by a thief on a 
Sunday evening during the hours of divine service 
which Mr. Reece was conducting. His eldest 
daughter, being slightly indisposed, remained at 
home, and, hearing the robber in the lower part of 
the house, courageously went down stairs. At 
the sight of her the depredator fled, not, however, 
before Miss Reece had obtained a full view of his 
person. Of course her testimony was all-import- 
ant to the conviction of the offender, and it was 
the object of the counsel for the defense to break 
it down, or throw doubt upon it, if possible. This 
" duty " devolved upon the then Mr. Scarlett, who 
perceiving at a glance that Miss Reece's appear- 
ance in so public a manner was distressing to her, 
probably thought that by adding to her annoyance 
he could so disconcert her as to make her give 
contradictory, or at least imperfect, testimony. 
Fixing his gaze rudely upon her for some minutes, 
he abruptly asked, 

" You are the daughter of a Methodist parson, 
I believe?" 

Witness. I am the daughter of a Methodist 
preacher, sir. 



78 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

Counsel. Was there much money in the house 
to your knowledge ? 

Witness. There was the amount of two collec- 
tions, morning and afternoon, left there for conve- 
nience by the stewards until Monday. 

Counsel. Were you alone [with emphasis] the 
whole of that evening ? 

Witness. I was, sir. 

Counsel. Remember you are upon your oath, 
Miss Reece. Are you quite sure that you admit- 
ted no young man into the house after the family 
went to chapel ? Why were you up stairs ? 

There was a moment of stillness in the court — 
for all felt that the counsel had committed a gross 
outrage — it was but a moment, however, and while 
the witness was yet bewildered by the insulting 
question, her venerable father, who sat near the 
counsel's table, arose, and stretching his imposing 
figure to its full height of six feet, his frame ex- 
panding with offended pride, addressed first the 
judge, claiming for his daughter the protection of 
the bench, and then administered to Mr. Scarlett 
one of the most withering rebukes perhaps ever 
openly received by any man. The judge, struck 
with the commanding mien and venerable appear- 
ance of the speaker, did not even attempt to put 
a stop to such an unusual proceeding ; and when 
Mr. Reece, by the allusion to his daughter, revealed 
his relationship to the witness, there was a general 
murmur of approbation. When he had concluded, 
the judge, imbibing more than English judges are 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 79 

wont to do, the general sentiment, severely animad- 
verted upon the outrage, and Mr. Scarlett was 
compelled to apologize for " any indiscretion into 
which zeal for his client might have led him." 

The author of the " Centenary Takings " has 
tacked on to his brief notice of Mr. Reece, as the 
Scriptural motto which he seems to think neces- 
sary for the completion of each of his portraits, 
the significant passage, " / magnify mine office." 
It is a fair hit, it must be confessed. The reverend 
gentleman places the standard of ministerial au- 
thority very high, but then he takes equally high 
views of its responsibilities and duties. In late 
years the young men who are placed under his 
superintendency have complained that he exacts 
from them the full tale of labor. Possibly he holds 
an opinion, which the old preachers are apt to en- 
tertain, that the present generation of ministers 
are not so laborious as their fathers were, and he 
may wish to teach his young colleagues in a better 
school. Throughout his protracted life he has 
maintained an irreproachable reputation and good 
rank as a preacher. In 1816 he was elected pre- 
sident of the Conference by a very large vote. 
Few ministers, of any denomination, have so hap- 
pily combined the courtesy of the Christian gen- 
tleman with the fidelity of the Christian pastor ; 
and none have in a more eminent degree shed the 
pure lustre of a spotless life over so long a journey 
through the wilderness. The last time the writer 
saw Mr. Reece was at the great " Centenary Meet- 



80 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

ing" at Manchester, when he boldly proposed the 
sum of two hundred thousand pounds sterling 
as the minimum of the centenary fund. Many 
smiled at the old man's confidence, and supposed 
that his usual judgment had forsaken him ; but 
the people more than vindicated his estimate of 
Methodistic gratitude and liberality by pouring 
into the treasury of the Lord more than sixteen 
thousand pounds beyond that sum. 

A few months since a personal friend of the 
writer saw Mr. Reece in England. He had then 
retired from the itinerancy ; in pleasant allusion to 
which and his own reputation as a somewhat severe 
superintendent he observed, "I can still preach 
twice on the Sunday; and my superintendent 
gives me plenty of work. They used to call me 
a hard superintendent, therefore I must not com- 
plain now that I have to obey and be under au- 
thority my self." 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 81 



Robert Proton, W. JB. 

u He has no party rage, no sectary's whim : 
Christian and countryman is all with him."— Crabbe. 
" All men love to lean on him, who never failed nor fainted. 
Freedom gloweth in his eyes, and nobleness of nature at his heart." 

Proverbial Philosophy. 

Some twelve years ago the writer was traveling 
between Manchester and Leeds by that most plea- 
sant of all conveyances, an English first-class stage 
coach, (now, by the introduction of railroads, an 
almost unknown mode of transportation,) prefer- 
ring, as every experienced traveler in good health 
would, an « outside place." The seats in the rear 
were occupied by a very pleasant company, veri- 
table sons of John Bull— so often denounced as a 
surly, unsociable fellow, who never opens his lips 
but to snarl and growl ; yet they soon entered into 
agreeable conversation, though to that moment 
they were entire strangers to each other. Even 
the "guard"— an official attached to every stage 
coach on a long route, and to all first-rate coaches, 
be the run ever so short ; and who is generally 
something of a sporting character — joined in the 
conversation with considerable readiness and pro- 
priety. Religious topics became the subject of 
converse ; and as there was at least one Methodist 
in the company, it will excite no wonder that 
Methodism put in its claim to notice. When we 
had descended from principles to communities, 






82 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

there was no difficulty in stepping down from 
communities to individuals, and the talents and 
characteristics of various ministers and laymen, 
more or less known to the religious world, were 
reviewed. In reply to a remark from one of the 
party, the guard said, in substance : — 

" I do not profess religion myself," (adding the 
common excuse, that his line of life was unfavor- 
able to its possession ;) " but I love to see it in others 
when they live up to it. There is a gentleman who 
travels a good deal, who when he comes out of 
Leeds or Manchester generally travels by my 
coach ;* and he always takes a seat behind, with 
me. We never get far from the pavements before 
he contrives to turn the conversation to religion. 
I don't know how he manages it : it seems to 
come up naturally, and before you know what he 
is driving at. Nobody takes offense ; for he is as 
true a gentleman as ever sat on a coach. He often 
talks to me very plainly ; and sometimes asks me 
very close questions, but in such a friendly manner 
that I cannot help answering them. I love that 
man, and so does everybody. I 've known gentle- 
men, when they have heard him talking, leave the 
front seats, when we stopped anywhere, and come 
and sit here, that they might listen to him. He 
does not make any parade of his religion either ; 
but no one can help seeing that he is a good man, 

* Every " guard " speaks of his coach ; and when on the road he is 
about as supreme as the captain of a ship is at sea. Generally they 
are shrewd, observant, intelligent men, civil, and often generous 
fellows, with a due regard to the main chance. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 83 

and that his religion makes him cheerful and happy. 
I often wish I was like him. I think his name is 
Isaac Newton." 

Smiling at the guard's mistake, while I admired 
his manly honesty, I observed, "Robert Newton, is 
it not?" 

"Yes, I believe it is," said he: "he is always 
traveling about." 

The writer had known and admired Mr. Newton 
before he heard this disinterested and incidental 
testimony to his noble consistency of character. 
From that hour who could help esteeming and 
loving him ? 

Cecil observes, that " the history of a man's own 
life is, to himself, the most interesting history in 
the world, next to that of the Scriptures. Every 
man is an original and solitary character. None 
can either understand or feel the book of his own 
life like himself. The lives of other men are to 
him dry and vapid when set beside his own." In 
an inferior sense to that which Cecil intended, the 
remarks apply with peculiar force to Mr. Newton. 
If he keeps a diary or journal, (which, however, is 
doubted,) a record of apostolical labors has yet to be 
given to the world unparalleled, it may safely be 
said, in the modern history of the church, and not 
surpassed in extent by the "journeyings often" 
of the Rev. John Wesley himself. 

Mr. Newton entered upon the itinerancy in 1799 ; 
the same year in which Dr. Bunting and some other 
eminent preachers commenced their public minis- 



84 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

try. There was that year an unusual scarcity of 
candidates ; and it is commonly said that Mr. 
Newton was called out without the usual pre- 
liminaries and course of examination. He soon, 
however, gave evidence that he was in every way 
qualified for the high vocation, and that the Con- 
ference had but opened the path in which the great 
Head of the church designed he should walk. 
It is not generally known under whose ministry 
Mr. Newton was awakened. Mrs. Taft, a female 
preacher, at one time of some celebrity, was worTt 
to claim him as her son in the gospel. The claim, 
however, was not just ; since the good woman con- 
founded the subject of this sketch with his brother 
Jacob, who after laboring a few years in the 
itinerancy, with much acceptance, retired on ac- 
count of ill health, and entered into business. He 
found peace in a prayer meeting, after preaching 
by Mrs. Taft, who to the last persisted in her claim 
upon Robert ; and in her pious and well-meant 
zeal used often to wrestle mightily with God that 
he would give her another Robert Newton, as a 
seal to her labors. It is said that on account of 
the pertinacity and publicity with which the lady 
claimed her instrumentality in his conversion, Mr. 
Newton's brethren in the ministry have been known 
to quiz him a little upon the subject ; but he 
uniformly refuses to acknowledge any ivoman as 
his spiritual fa ther. 

Remembering that the gentleman has visited 
this countrv, it seems almost needless to describe 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 85 

his personal appearance. Hundreds, however, did 
not see him ; and to them the description will be 
welcome. His features are masculinely handsome ; 
his face bears the impress of hardiness and health, 
embrowned by constant exposure. The whiskers 
cross far over the cheek, are trimmed with some 
•exactness, and are forbidden to grow on the lower 
part of the face beyond a straight line drawn from 
the bottom of the ear to a little above the upper 
lip. They give rather a martial air to the coun- 
tenance, which is increased by the upright attitude 
of their owner. The nose is slightly aquiline. The 
mouth, as Mr. Everett observes, is formed for 
public speaking, and is capable of emitting, with- 
out the least contraction, the fullest voice. The 
hair is naturally dark ; but he wears a false top, 
which, before the whiskers became gray, could 
scarcely be recognized as an artificial covering: 
even now it has a natural appearance. The fore- 
head is very fine, sufficiently high, expansive, and 
beaming with light. Ingenuousness, blended sua- 
vity and dignity, are strongly and truthfully indi- 
cated by the whole features. The eyes, dark and 
expressive, and remarkable for the clearness of the 
white, are overhung with long black lashes, and 
surmounted with a finely-arched eyebrow. In 
height he is not far from six feet. There is a 
slight degree of squareness about the shoulders ; 
and the whole frame is sinewy, strong, and com- 
pact, fitly joined together, and capable of enduring 
almost any amount of labor. His voice must be 



86 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

heard to be appreciated. Deep-toned and melo- 
dious, it is equal to any demands that can be made 
upon it. It has all the compass and power of the 
organ : now swelling and pealing, and anon soft- 
ening into deepest tenderness and sweetness, yet 
in its faintest sounds always audible in every part 
of the largest building. The perfection of his 
voice is well seconded by the grace, ease, and un- 
varying propriety of his action. Mr. Newton is 
little indebted to art in any respect — nature made 
him an orator : he has sought little instruction 
elsewhere, and acknowledges no other teacher. 
His pulpit gestures are never violent : his favorite 
action is a slight forward inflection of the body, 
and a circular motion of the right hand, with the 
palm downward, over the open Bible. Sometimes 
he points at the page before him with the fore- 
finger, or stretches out the arm, or lays his hand 
upon his breast, (the left hand or arm is never 
used alone,) or elevates both hands, with the 
eyes raised to the ceiling ; and these actions, with 
an occasional tapping upon the Bible with the fore- 
finger and thumb united at the extremities, though 
often repeated, are so perfectly in accordance with 
the subject under treatment, that they never weary 
or lose their manifest appropriateness. 

An illustration of his power as an orator occurs 
to the writer. A friend of mine, disentangled from 
the meshes of infidelity, took a former associate, 
an intelligent man, but an avowed infidel, to hear 
Mr. Newton at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. At the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 87 

close of the service, on the homeward walk, the 
infidel was asked his opinion of the preacher. 

" O," said the young man, " he is a perfect ora- 
tor ; a natural orator too. But he is a fool, sir." 

My friend was annoyed at the remark, and was 
about resenting it somewhat sharply, when the 
young man continued : — 

" Pardon me ; I do not mean the remark of- 
fensively, but that he is neglecting his own interest. 
If Mr. Newton would go upon the stage, sir, in- 
stead of yielding to his religious enthusiasm, he 
might, with his voice, gesture, and commanding 
figure, gain his thousands a year, with only a tithe 
of the toil and inconveniences which he must, in 
his present position, undergo." 

Such was the tribute awarded to the extraor- 
dinary gifts of our present subject, by one who 
could not be regarded as a partial witness ; — and, 
alas ! such the characteristic estimate put upon the 
noblest of human faculties by heartless infidelity ; 
such the melancholy ignorance of that impelling 
principle of love for souls, that " yearning pity for 
mankind," which led the Saviour to Calvary, and 
still prompts his ministers and servants to count 
everything but loss, if so they may 

" snatch poor souls out of the fire, 

And quench the brands in Jesus' blood." 

It is somewhat difficult to fix Mr. Newton's rank 
as a preacher, apart from his distinction as an ora- 
tor. The hearer is led away from criticising the 
matter of his discourses by the irresistible charm 



88 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

of his manner. Some, not carefully analyzing their 
emotions while listening to the voice of the charmer, 
sincerely believe that the theology is as profound 
as the oratory is perfect ; while others, with equal 
sincerity and earnestness, say that it is the oratory 
alone which makes the preacher so universally 
popular. Perhaps both opinions are erroneous ; the 
latter being formed without due regard to Mr. New- 
ton's deprivation of those facilities for study which 
are ordinarily the privilege of ministers. From the 
first year of his itinerancy, and especially for the 
last forty years, he has paid the usual penalty of 
great popularity, and has had little time that he 
could call his own. Probably four-fifths of his 
time are spent from home, in traveling, preaching, 
and speech-making. He has thus been excluded 
from his study, denied the privilege of retirement 
and seclusion, and has been thrown, almost without 
intermission, into promiscuous society. Add to 
these, the burden of correspondence which his po- 
sition necessarily lays upon him, and it cannot but 
be regarded as evidence of a strong intellect and 
great aptitude for the investigation and elucidation 
of theological truth, that he has been able to meet 
the incessant calls upon his ministerial labors, not 
only without disappointment on the part of his 
hearers, but with continued and increasing accept- 
ability. No Wesleyan minister states with greater 
precision the doctrines held by the body ; or more 
clearly teaches obvious Christian duties and privi- 
leges ; or more faithfully rebukes the sinner and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 89 

the hypocrite ; or more tenderly invites the trem- 
bling penitent to trust in the mercy of God ; or 
more cheeringly points the believer to the great 
end and reward of his faith, even everlasting life. 

Mr. Newton's sermons would always command 
attention, and be profitable to the hearer, even in 
the absence of the charm of his oratory. His rigid 
simplicity of diction, the clearness, fullness, and 
force, of his expositions, would make him an ac- 
ceptable preacher under any circumstances. His 
sermons do not give evidence of towering intellect, 
of profound research, or of brilliant imagination ; 
but neither are they deficient in clearness, force, or 
completeness ; they have always a definite purpose 
which they are well adapted to accomplish. His 
topics and thoughts are good without being novel ; 
useful, though they may not dazzle ; and he inva- 
riably finds his way both to the heads and the 
hearts of his hearers. His principal defect is, that 
he is sometimes too discursive, and takes a wider 
range than the text, to a closer thinker, would seem 
to justify. A rather amusing instance of this may 
be here narrated. 

Mr. Newton, and an intimate friend of the writer, 
Rev. Mr. * * * *, were appointed to preach mis- 
sionary sermons on Christmas-day, at Pontefract, 
in Yorkshire. Mr. * * * * was at the time stationed 
in one of the Leeds circuits, and it was arranged 
that the writer should drive him over to Pontefract, 
on the morning of the day on which his services 
were required, Mr. Newton preaching in the mom- 



90 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

ing and evening, and he in the afternoon. As we 
passed along the road the exercises of the day were 
canvassed ; and at the writer's solicitation, Mr. 

* * * * consented to reproduce a sermon which 
had been attended at Leeds with special benefit, 
the text being, " God so loved the world that he gave 
his only begotten Son" &c. We arrived too late 
at our destination to see Mr. N. before he entered 
the pulpit. When he announced his hymn, Mr. 

* * * * quietly remarked, " He will take my text." 
The conjecture proved correct; and, before the 
close of the discourse, Mr. Newton had, to his col- 
league's discomfiture, touched upon almost every 
branch of theology which had the most remote 
bearing upon the subject or the season. Mr. New- 
ton, in the vestry, after preaching, excused himself 
from the afternoon service, on the ground that he 
had traveled most of the night, and had to " pass 
on" after evening preaching. The sequel, how- 
ever, was not yet. In the afternoon, Mr. * * * * 
occupied the pulpit, in the full confidence that his 
associate would not be present. He had scarcely 
announced as his text, "He that spared not his own 
Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he 
not with him also freely give us all things " — before 
the majestic form of the morning preacher was 
observed in the body of the chapel. Again we all 
met in the vestry. "Why, * * * *," said Mr. 
Newton, "you have stolen a march upon me. I 
was going to preach from that text to-night." " Just 
serves you right," was the reply; "you took my 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 91 

text this morning, and robbed me of two or three 
sermons into the bargain.' ' Of course there was 
some merriment at the reverend gentlemen's ex- 
pense. 

The amount of physical labor which Mr. Newton 
undergoes is almost incredible. It is calculated 
that he travels from eight to ten thousand miles 
every year. Indeed, as Mr. Everett observes, " he 
can scarcely be said to have a home to which he 
can assert a residential claim, except the highway 
and the house of God, the stage-coach or the rail- 
way carriage, and the pulpit, in one or other of 
which he is to be found, with few intervals, from 
Sunday morning to Saturday night.' ' He makes 
a point, as far as practicable, of being in his own 
circuit on the Sunday ; and when he is at home, if 
it should happen to be his " country Sunday," the 
most distant and insignificant place is as punctually 
and cheerfully attended to, as the largest of the 
town chapels. This is so well understood, that 
when the plan* shows that it is his Sunday " out," 
or in the country part of the circuit, the members 
of the place where he is planned depute some per- 
son, going to market on the Saturday, to ascertain 
whether Mr. Newton is at home ; and if an affirma- 
tive answer be received, great is their joy. The 
instructions to this deputy are generally accom- 
panied by an injunction to make the inquiry the 
last thing before he leaves town, because it is known 

* The itinerant and local preachers' printed plan, renewed quarter- 
ly and distributed through the circuit. 



92 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

that the latest conveyance is the most likely to 
bring the preacher. Sometimes the messenger is 
not a member of the society, and feels no interest in 
the matter beyond a willingness to oblige his neigh- 
bors ; or, perhaps, afflicted with the malady of bash- 
fulness, he merely rings at Mr. Newton's door, asks 
whether he is at home, and receiving a reply in the 
negative, turns away without inquiring further, and 
reports accordingly. The intelligence throws a 
damper upon rustic expectation, and the people 
are but ill prepared to receive the " young man " 
whose misfortune it is to be appointed by the Con- 
ference as Mr. Newton's "assistant" — meaning 
substitute. Some of the older ones know, however, 
that " while there is time there is hope/' and, con- 
gregating about the chapel door before the hour for 
service, they cast anxious glances along the turnpike 
which leads from the circuit town. Watches of 
ancient mechanism, and inordinate thickness and 
circumference, are drawn from capacious fobs, and 
from their varying indices sage conclusions are ar- 
rived at, as to whether it is yet half-past ten 
o'clock, or still lacks five minutes. By common 
consent the five minutes are allowed ; for ( ' who shall 
decide when watches disagree ?" And while yet all 
faces are turned in the direction of the road lead- 
ing to the circuit town, the rumbling of wheels in 
the opposite direction suddenly ceases, and spring- 
ing from a borrowed gig, or shander-a-dan, or other 
nondescript vehicle, Mr. Newton gently lays his 
hand upon the shoulder of one of the group, and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 93 

in his well-known voice quietly asks, if it is not 
" preaching time." A hearty and universal shak- 
ing of hands follows ; with buoyant step the preach- 
er passes through the chapel yard into the house 
of God ; a few linger until he has disappeared, and 
then hastily step into the neighboring houses to 
spread the intelligence of Mr. Newton's arrival ; 
and in ten minutes the crowded building attests 
the preacher's popularity. The probable truth is 
that on Saturday night, at a distance of fifty or 
sixty miles from home, his travel has been inter- 
rupted by the contingency, not uncommon as rail- 
roads began to intersect the country, that a night 
coach on which he had relied had, without notice, 
been taken off the road, and he thus has been un- 
expectedly thrown upon his own resources. These 
seldom fail him. He has friends everywhere, and 
knows almost every road, cross-road, and by-lane 
in the country. By a rapid process he " calculates " 
where he can be sure of a vehicle ; and by dint of 
traveling all night, perhaps by some circuitous 
route, he secures his object, and is at the chapel 
door punctually at the time for service. He will 
preach that day two or three times, probably 
snatching twenty minutes sleep in the intervals ; 
after evening preaching he will ride home, a dis- 
tance perhaps of six or eight miles, and on Monday 
evening be preaching forty, fifty, or a hundred 
miles in another direction. 

This kind and degree of labor Mr. Newton has 
performed incessantly for nearly half a century — 



94 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

exposed to all kinds of weather, and, what to most 
constitutions is even more injurious, to constant ir- 
regularity in the matters of sleep and food — and yet 
he comes out of each journey, and appears in the 
pulpit, " with a frame as firmly braced as a drum, 
with a countenance as open as the day, and spirits 
as joyous as those of the lark when the streaks of 
the morning begin to break over the earth/ ' and 
has, with the exception of two brief intervals, en- 
joyed uninterrupted health. 

Of his ingenuity in extricating himself from the 
mishaps and exigencies of such constant traveling, 
numerous instances might be recorded. A few 
must suffice. In some of these Mr. Everett has 
the priority of publication in the Wesleyan Cen- 
tenary Takings, but they were matters of common 
conversation in Wesleyan circles before he gave 
them to the world in notes to his masterly portrait 
of Mr. Newton. 

Skillful as is the subject of this sketch in extri- 
cating himself from dilemmas caused by accidents 
of the road, he was once so fairly " cornered" that, 
in spite of all his experience and skill, he was driven 
to the necessity of either disappointing his congre- 
gation, or walking ten miles after leaving the coach, 
burdened with his traveling dress and carpet-bag, 
and straitened also for time. He made his choice 
without hesitation, arrived at the place, immediately 
ascended the pulpit, and went through the service 
without apparent fatigue. 

At another time, the coach by which he expected 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 95 

to travel to the next town failed to arrive, and the 
hour for preaching was drawing very near. Not a 
vehicle or even a horse could he obtain. While 
rather anxiously pondering over the difficulty, the 
postman approached on his way to the place which 
Mr. Newton wished to reach. The perplexed tra- 
veler hailed him, and explained his difficulty. The 
postman knew him, and instantly dismounted ; the 
preacher as suddenly was metamorphosed into the 
postman, and, " intrusted with the whole epistolary 
affairs of church and state, of the commercial and 
social world, the new equestrian clapped his heels 
to the horse — off he went in fine style — the horn 
and pistols in their proper places — the bags flap- 
ping against the old stager's sides, and beating 
time to his pace — and the postman trudging it on 
foot in the rear. Both horse and rider knew the 
way to the office — they dashed through the streets 

of W , and were soon at the door, where the 

new postman made an honest surrender of the let- 
ters and the horse, to the no small amusement of 
the postmaster and his family, who happened to be 
Wesleyans." 

On another occasion, when about eleven miles 
from his destination, the gig in which he was tra- 
veling broke down, and was so much shattered 
that the united skill of the occupants could not 
avail to "fix" it, even for temporary use ; nor was 
there any blacksmith's or wheelwright's shop with- 
in sight. The case was urgent, and Mr. Newton's 
decision prompt. Disentangling the horse, and 



96 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

stripping it of the harness, except the bridle, and 
cutting a good " switch " from the hawthorn hedge, 
he mounted the bare back of the astonished steed, 
and telling his companion where it would be found 
at the place of destination, he was soon on his way, 
with his carpet-bag before him, and his cloak float- 
ing behind, many an astonished swain wondering 
at the modern John Gilpin. 

Speaking of his cloak reminds me that the first 
time I saw Mr. Newton was some five and twenty 
years ago, at a small country town in the North- 
riding of Yorkshire, not far distant from Mr. New- 
ton's birthplace, Robin Hood's Bay. On a cer- 
tain day in the year, and almost at the same hour 
in the day, he might be seen en route to his native 
place, to preach the anniversary sermons on behalf 
of the chapel, riding at a gentle, jogging pace, 
technically known as a " Methodist preacher's trot," 
and with an oil-skin covering over his hat, and his 
person enveloped in an old green tartan-plaid cloak. 
It must even then have done long service, for the 
original green had passed through the " sere and 
yellow "into a nondescript hue unknown in the 
nomenclature of colors. Moreover it had acquired 
the soubriquet of " Mr. Newton's cloak," and was 
so well known that it was often the means of re- 
cognition when on a crowded coach his face could 
not be seen. " That 's Mr. Newton's cloak," ex- 
claimed one of the family, running to the window. 
The writer followed, and, as Mr. Newton, catching 
a glimpse of my sister's figure, turned round to 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 97 

give the sign of recognition, received the first and 
indelible impression of his noble features. I saw 
the same cloak on the same form three hundred 
miles in another direction, some six or seven years 
afterward ; since when I do not remember to have 
observed it. Probably it did wear out in the 
lapse of years. 

Before dismissing the perils by land, to which 
the subject of this sketch is often exposed? an in- 
stance in which he narrowly escaped peril of an- 
other sort may be mentioned. He was sojourning 
for a night in the house of a wealthy member of 
the society, and had to proceed on his journey 
long before daylight. His host, knowing this, gave 
orders that his guest and himself should be called 
early ; and that breakfast should be prepared in 
time for him to accompany Mr. Newton to the 
coach. When the guest retired, his kind host as- 
sured him that he might rely upon the arrange- 
ments that were made, and pressed him to resign 
himself to sleep without anxiety. Though im- 
pressed with the generous consideration of his 
host, Mr. Newton yet preferring to trust to his own 
habits, awoke at the required time, sallied from 
his chamber, and finding that no one was stirring 
but himself, stepped quietly down stairs, unfastened 
the front door, and closed it softly after him, that 
he might not disturb the family. On reaching the 
iron gates he found them securely locked. If he 
had been so disposed, there was not time to arouse 
the inmates of the house, and obtain the key, be- 



98 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

fore the coach would start. Suspending his car- 
pet-bag on one of the iron rails, so that he could 
unhook it at the other side, he, with great difficulty, 
scaled the palisades. Unseen by the adventurous 
climber, a policeman was mean time watching his 
movements, which were certainly rendered suspi- 
cious by the absence of any lights in the house, 
the quiet observed, the carpet-bag, and the scaling 
of the rails. Reaching the sidewalk in safety, Mr. 
Newton unhooked the carpet-bag and hastily moved 
on. The policeman followed, never for a moment 
losing sight of his prey, resolved to see where the 
supposed burglar deposited his booty. Just as 
the traveler arrived at the coach, and the man in 
authority was about to arrest him as his prisoner, 
some one accosted him, — " 0, Mr. Newton, are 
you going by this coach?'' The policeman re- 
tired, both amused and disappointed. The name 
was familiar to him ; it had been placarded in al- 
most every village and town in the kingdom, and 
was a passport for integrity. 

The features in Mr. Newton's history and cha- 
racter which awaken the devout joy of his friends, 
are his sterling piety and unaffected humility, not- 
withstanding the continual temptation to exhibit 
another spirit. His piety is manly and ennobling, 
and is as much unlike the sickly sentimentalism of 
some religious professors, who have acquired the 
dialect of the gospel without imbibing its spirit, as 
light is unlike darkness. It is healthy, vigorous, 
and catholic, caring more for " truth in the inward 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 99 

parts " than for mere externals ; carping never at 
the shape of a man's garments, nor anathematizing 
those who may differ from him as to what is fitting 
and comely in apparel. No man would more sin- 
cerely grieve over the slave to fashion of either 
sex — the pride of conformity to the world, and the 
pride of nonconformity, would alike awaken his 
compassion, and insure his exhortation and prayers 
for the subject of it — but it is very doubtful whe- 
ther any man ever heard a censorious remark upon 
an absent person from his lips. His piety is too 
deeply imbued with the charity and magnanimity 
of the gospel. Tell him of a fellow-disciple's de- 
reliction from duty, too notorious to be doubted 
and too palpably a breach of principle to be apolo- 
gized for, and his response will be, in effect, — " Yes, 
my heart bleeds for him ; let him that thinketh 
he standeth take heed lest he fall." Let it not be 
supposed, however, that his piety is not also prac- 
tical. It is strikingly so. It regulates his whole 
unblemished character. It lies at the foundation 
of his uniform cheerfulness. It is the mainspring 
of his incessant labors and privations, and has pre- 
served him from pride and self-conceit during half 
a century of unparalleled popularity. 

Until the second advent of the Redeemer, when 
every man " shall stand in his lot," the fruits of 
Mr. Newton's ministry cannot be computed. But 
when the great Head of the church shall appear 
in the heavens, and his " reward with him, to give 
unto every man according as his work shall be," 



100 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

the subject of this sketch will be invested with 
immortal honor, and the crown of his rejoicing will 
be studded with many gems of purest lustre. 
Many are the redeemed of the Lord who have 
been gathered into the fold of the church through 
his instrumentality. He who called him to labor 
in his vineyard has honored his servant's fidelity 
by giving him seals to his ministr}'. I will here 
name one remarkable instance, the particulars of 
which have not before been published. They were 
made known to me by a member of the family 
whose maternal head occupies so honorable a posi- 
tion in the narrative. 

Mr. Newton was is the habit of annually preach- 
ing the sermons on behalf of the principal chapel 
in Derby. At the time to which reference is now 
made, Rev. Isaac Turton was stationed there. His 
lady, a model for a preacher's wife, eminently 
mindful of her own household, while she forgot not 
the necessities, both temporal and spiritual, of those 
around her, and whose praise is in all the churches 
to this day, had been very solicitous for the con- 
version of a bold and intelligent infidel, who, by his 
public addresses and other means, was leading 
many into the dark and tortuous paths of skepti- 
cism. Mrs. Turton was a faithful and efficient tract 
distributer, and this infidel's house was in her dis- 
trict. Unweariedly, and in spite of harsh words, 
for nine successive weeks, she persevered in calling 
with her little messenger of peace, and as often did 
he refuse to admit it into the house, watching re- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 101 

gularly for Mrs. Turton's visit, lest his wife, or 
some other member of the family, should be touched 
by the meek earnestness of the lady, and be per- 
suaded to accept the tract. At the tenth visit his 
resolution gave way. He permitted the tract to 
be left, but persisted in declining to read it, or 
allow it to be read. The third or fourth, however, 
which was thus left, was returned with a page 
turned down — a consultation was held between the 
pious lady and her husband, and two or three suit- 
able books were sent by Mr. Turton to the now 
half-awakened infidel. In a few days he volun- 
tarily returned the visit which was at first so dis- 
tasteful to him ; conversation and prayer followed ; 
and at Mrs. Turton's earnest solicitation he con- 
sented to attend at the Wesleyan Chapel on the 
following Sunday, when Mr. Newton was to preach 
the anniversary sermons. 

This infidel was a well-known character, of good 
moral reputation, bold and fearless in the avowal 
of his sentiments, of considerable respectability, 
and possessed a very large, and, in a pecuniary 
sense, very valuable library. In person, he was of 
commanding aspect. That there was, in spite of 
his infidelitv, a redeeming manliness of character 
about him will be inferred from his reply to Mrs. 
Turton's offer of a seat in the preachers' pew, as 
being in a retired situation where he would be less 
observed by the congregation. "No, madam," 
he said ; " you have already been instrumental in 
changing my views of religion to some extent. I 



102 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

begin to doubt the soundness of my cherished sen- 
timents, the promulgation of which I have openly- 
labored for, and if I attend your chapel on Sunday, 
it shall be in sight of the whole congregation." 
Sunday came, and, true to his promise, the relent- 
ing skeptic entered the chapel, and took a seat in 
the centre of the body of the house. All eyes 
were immediately turned upon him, and significant 
glances were exchanged between those in the con- 
gregation to whom he was known. But to this 
observation the observed was indifferent ; he was 
lost in meditation. Mr. Newton ascended the pul- 
pit, and announced the hymn. The new hearer 
awoke from his reverie, fixed his eyes upon the 
preacher with an expression of deep interest, stood 
erect while the hymn was sung, and kneeled de- 
voutly during prayer. Mr. Newton, who was 
entirely ignorant of the circumstances in which he 
was placed, took for his text Psalm i, 1 : " Blessed 
is the man that tvalketh not hi the counsel of the un- 
godly, nor standeth in the ivay of sinners, nor sitteth 
in the seat of the scornful." The effect upon the 
man was electrical ; and before the preacher had 
well entered upon his sermon he was leaning upon 
the front of the pew, with his eyes intently fixed 
upon the speaker, eagerly drinking in every word 
that came from his lips, utterly unmindful of the 
amazement of some in the congregation, to whom 
his character and person were well known. He 
also attracted Mr. Newton's notice, who, though 
feeling an impression that the man was arrested by 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 103 

the word, yet was puzzled by the fixed and almost 
rigid expression of his countenance, and stepping 
into Mr. Turton's house after preaching, made in- 
quiries respecting his hearer. While they were 
conversing, the door-bell rang, and the man him- 
self was introduced into the room. His first re- 
mark, a not unusual one, was, that Mrs. Turton had 
told the preacher his history ; this being denied, 
and the matter explained to him, he turned toward 
Mr. Newton, acknowledged that God had spoken 
through him to his erring heart, and besought the 
prayers of all three for his* full deliverance from 
the snare of the enemy. An hour was spent in 
earnest prayer and supplication, Mr. Turton's study 
echoing with the groans and cries of the wounded 
sinner and the impassioned tones of the subject of 
this sketch and those who were associated with 
him. The penitent, though he did not then obtain 
a clear knowledge of sins forgiven, was encouraged 
to hope : he went home ; the next morning he 
made a bonfire of his large collection of infidel 
books, became subsequently truly converted, and 
an acceptable local preacher in the Methodist con- 
nection. 

Any sketch of Mr. Newton would be very 
imperfect which did not take some notice of his 
platform services ; for, in the abundance and effi- 
ciency of his labors in that department of Christian 
enterprise, he is certainly without a parallel. No 
missionary meeting ever proved a failure at which 
he was present as a speaker. They manage these 



104 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

meetings better in England, the writer conceives, 
than we do here ; and, indeed, their whole mis- 
sionary organization is more effective. The noble 
sum annually placed at the disposal of the Wes- 
leyan Missionary Society, as compared with the 
income of the Methodist Episcopal Missionary So- 
ciety, is evidence of this. Great pains are taken 
to infuse interest into the English missionary anni- 
versaries, and to make them occasions of high 
intellectual and spiritual enjoyment. Their meetings 
are always preceded by missionary sermons, for 
which a stranger is secured, if only from a neigh- 
boring circuit. The meeting is held during the 
week following, but never on the Sunday. Such a 
thing would not be thought of among the Wes- 
leyans in England. The meeting is generally pre- 
sided over by a layman, and both clergy and laity 
take part in the speaking. In the towns the plat- 
form is large, and is occupied by a numerous 
representation of Methodist ministers, and gene- 
rally some of the other denominations, and of the 
influential laity connected with the chapel or town 
in which the meeting is held. 

In Manchester, Leeds, and other large towns, 
twenty, thirty, or even more, occupy the platform. 
Four or half a dozen speakers will address the 
meeting, each proposing or " supporting," as it is 
technically styled, one of a series of resolutions 
previously prepared by the local secretary. Each 
resolution is formally put to the meeting by the 
chairman, and a vote taken upon it by a show of 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 105 

hands. The meeting usually continues from half- 
past six or seven o'clock until ten in the evening, 
more or less protracted by local circumstances. 
The collection is made, in the ordinary mode of 
handing round the boxes, when the meeting is 
about three-fourths advanced. If Mr. Newton is 
one of the speakers, he, of course, makes, what is 
pleasantly called, the " collection speech," and no 
man can make it so effectively. Yet it can scarcely 
be said that he begs — a hundred persons might be 
found who would do that more importunately and 
mercilessly. He will dwell in glowing terms upon 
the blessedness of those who co-operate with the 
providence and grace of God in the missionary en- 
terprise ; he will depict, in tones of deepest ten- 
derness, the wretchedness and misery of the 
heathen ; he will stimulate and encourage the 
audience to liberality by a vivid picture of what 
has been achieved by missionary labor ; and expa- 
tiate, in words that burn, upon the opening pros- 
pects and expanding glories which everywhere 
invitingly meet the eye of the Christian philan- 
thropist. By these, and other avenues, he will 
enter the very citadel of the heart of those whom 
he addresses, and, kindling there the fire of pure 
Christian sympathy and love, will fan it into a 
flame by the recital of remarkable instances of 
unselfish devotion to the great and holy work of 
converting a rebel world, so many of which have 
come within his personal knowledge ; and all this 
he will do with such felicity of expression, and such 



106 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

a gush of hallowed feeling, as to make his more 
direct appeals irresistible. Toward the close of his 
speech, persons unused to the giving mood often 
become impatient for the opportunity of aiding 
the cause, the advocate of which has awakened 
such new and delightful emotions within their 
breasts, and has clothed the smallest voluntary 
sacrifice in the cause of missions with an accept- 
ability in the sight of God, and an importance in 
its consequences to their fellow-men, which prompt 
them to the noblest efforts, and make " their duty 
their delight." It is by supplying motives for 
liberality, and by depicting its rewards, that Mr. 
Newton so invariably succeeds. There is nothing 
of dictation in his address — no saying what they 
must give — no undignified solicitation ; the people 
give spontaneously as the Lord hath prospered 
them, or as the silent monitor within may counsel 
them ; they retire to their homes with the pleasant 
conviction that, of their own accord, they have done 
what they could ; the hallowed joy and the inward 
satisfaction, felt at the meeting, remain with them ; 
and when the time returns for the repetition of the 
anniversary, it is anticipated with a delight which 
rests securely upon the happy experience of the 
former meeting. It is for higher authorities than 
the writer to decide whether this is not, in the long 
run, a more productive plan than that which now, 
to so great an extent, prevails at the anniversaries 
of our own Missionary Society. 

For a number of years Mr. Newton has been 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 107 

annually elected, by an almost unanimous vote, 
secretary of the Conference, with the exception 
only of the years in which he was, with the same 
near approach to unanimity, elected president. He 
is not a man likely to allow r such a body for a mo- 
ment to transgress the rules of order, even were 
such a disposition manifested. It is but justice, 
however, to the British Conference to say, that an 
appeal to the presiding officer on a point of order 
is a very rare occurrence. They are ever willing 
to exercise Christian courtesy even in the utmost 
freedom and animation of debate. 

As w T ill be inferred from what has already been 
said, he is peculiarly adapted either for secretary or 
president, on account of his excellent voice and his 
combined dignity and urbanity of deportment. As 
a ruler in Israel, however, he cannot be compared 
with him whose name stands at the head of the 
first sketch in this volume. 



108 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS, 



jtaaac (ftttrton. 

" What he believed, he taught ; what he taught he practiced ; so 
that creed and deed harmonized. He had a sweet spirit too, and a 

pleasant countenance ; grace and face making comely union 

Indeed he was a Christian of Christ's sort." 

The subject of this sketch entered the itinerancy in 
1798, and has for some years been upon the super- 
numerary list ; but although, from age and bodily 
infirmity, he has been compelled partially to rest 
from his labors, two of his sons have stepped into 
his place, and give promise of high acceptability 
and usefulness. Rev. Charles G. Turton has been 
in the itinerancy seven, and Rev. Henry H. Turton 
in the mission field, at New-Zealand, about eight 
years. Mr. Turton, senior, has also a son-in-law who 
has long been laboring as a very useful missionary 
in Ceylon, Rev. Robert Spence Hardy, author of 
" Travels in the Holy Land/' an interesting volume, 
which has been republished in this country. 

During the vigor of his days Mr. Turton com- 
manded much attention in the Wesleyan Connec- 
tion. Few of his contemporaries were more accept- 
able in the pulpit, or out of it exercised a more le- 
gitimate and salutary influence upon their respect- 
ive societies. By his brethren in the ministry he 
was always held in high estimation, and had he 
been ambitious of distinction — had he even been 
less retiring and less indifferent to reputation, other 
than that of being an acceptable minister of the 



SKETCHES OF TfESLEYAN PREACHEftS. 100 

New Testament, and a faithful overseer of the 
church of God, the suffrages of his brethren would 
have freely accorded him office and elevation 
among them. Few men, with Mr. Turton's talents 
as a preacher, have so resolutely pursued the even 
tenor of their way, content, like the violet of the 
vale, to reveal their presence by the sweet perfume 
of their piety, rather than by the splendor of their 
talents. As a pastor, he has had no superior and 
few equals. In this respect he was truly a " son 
of consolation ;" all tenderness and sympathy, yet 
ever faithful in his counsels in sickness and in 
health, in adversity and prosperity. All his move- 
ments among the people, his daily intercourse with 
them and their children, showed that he cared for 
their souls, and watched over them as one that 
must give account. But with all this oneness of 
purpose, this fidelity to the vows that were upon 
him, there was so much of gentleness, cheerfulness, 
and suavity, that he won, in a remarkable degree, 
the affection of all, while he secured their venera- 
tion and respect. 

Even at an advanced age, and after years of 
affliction and sorrow, Mr. Turton's personal appear- 
ance is remarkably pleasing. In the ripe vigor of 
his days he must have been a handsome man, as 
indeed those who knew him then declare that he 
was ; the countenance full of intelligence and mild- 
ness ; the complexion florid ; the cheek bones slight- 
ly prominent ; the forehead high and well develop- 
ed ; the eye of a light blue-gray, clear and spark- 



110 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

ling, giving a vivacity somewhat in contrast with 
the general repose of the face ; the frame about five 
feet ten inches in height, well proportioned in every 
respect ; his gait and movements natural and easy, 
and the tout- ensemble that of an intelligent, affable, 
Christian gentleman, heightened not a little by a 
becoming taste and care in his apparel. 

Few men have read more and to better purpose 
than Mr. Turton. He has for many years possess- 
ed an extensive library, the contents of which he 
has well digested. With every standard theolo- 
gical writer, from the " Fathers " down to the au- 
thors of the eighteenth century, he is thoroughly 
familiar. The arguments and fallacies of each have 
been carefully noted in the reading, and are repro- 
duced with perfect ease, in conversation and in the 
pulpit, as authorities or for refutation. More than 
most men he possesses the faculty of making the 
contents of the most abstruse and elaborate works 
his own ; never, however, confounding the various 
sources whence he derives his knowledge. There 
is scarcely a standard book of which he cannot im- 
promptu give a complete analysis ; and he was al- 
ways willing to give his younger brethren the bene- 
fit of his experience for their guidance, either in 
the selection of libraries or the prosecution of their 
studies. He was, indeed, the kind friend and 
judicious counselor of young preachers, local as 
well as itinerant. 

As a preacher, Mr. Turton has held high rank 
and commanded the best circuits. For this he is 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. Ill 

indebted to no adventitious aids. He never de- 
claims ; has no redundancy of imagination, and, ex- 
cept in the earliest years of his ministry, has never 
been an impassioned or impetuous preacher. Nei- 
ther does he possess a powerful or commanding 
voice, though it is clear, and capable of considerable 
modulation. His sermons are always instinct with 
life, and glow with the even warmth of ardent but 
well-regulated feeling. The division of his subject 
is invariably natural ; he never resorts to epigram- 
matic or alliterative grouping of topics, and expa- 
tiates upon the sentiment rather than the phrase- 
ology of the text ; although he occasionally intro- 
duces a verbal criticism very felicitously. He is a 
sound logician, and though entirely self-taught is 
conversant with the most rigid discipline of the 
schools. A systematic gradation is observed in 
the exposition of his subject ; every step in the 
progress of discussion strengthens his position, and 
carries additional light into the minds of his hear- 
ers. This, and the perennial freshness of thought 
and expression are the peculiarities and excellences 
of Mr. Turton's preaching. He is not, strictly 
speaking, an original or profoimd, but rather a 
vigorous, comprehensive, accurate thinker. His ser- 
mons are nevertheless his own. While he preaches, 
the man of reading is lost sight of, and the clear 
thinker and earnest expositor are alone seen and 
heard. Hence his popularity was constantly on 
the increase during the vigor of his days. Where 
the wishes of the people could be granted, he in- 



112 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

variably staid three years in a circuit ; and it then 
seemed to them as though time was but revealing 
capacities and resources, on the preacher's part, in 
the benefits of which they would fain have parti- 
cipated. It was a remark, not unfrequently made 
among the people, that his mind resembled a piece 
of household furniture, the more it was used the 
brighter it became. 

Mr. Turton was superintendent of one of the 
Leeds circuits during the disturbances in the so- 
cieties there upon the " organ question ;" and his 
peace-loving, sensitive nature, keenly suffered dur- 
ing the tumult of unhallowed passion which for a 
season prevailed. At the same juncture, too, he 
was called to watch at the bedside of a dying 
wife — the severest trial to which any man can be 
exposed ; but in Mr. Turton's case especially har- 
rowing, because that wife was in an almost un- 
paralleled degree a help -meet for her husband — 
not only as the wise and affectionate counselor 
and guardian of his numerous family, leaving his 
mind unburdened for the faithful prosecution of 
the ministry whereunto he was called, but as often 
encouraging him by her sympathy, stimulating him 
by her own devotion to the interests of the Re- 
deemer's kingdom, sweetly sharing the yoke with 
him in his trials, and joying with him in the tri- 
umphs of his faith and love. To this day her 
praise is in all the churches. From .this double 
sorrow Mr. Turton never fully recovered. There 
is little of the iron in his nature, little of the sturdy 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 113 

oak, to brave such a storm ; and while, with un- 
wavering faith, the well-instructed saint reverently- 
bowed his head, and unfalteringly said, " It is the 
Lord, let him do what seemeth good unto hini," 
the heart of the man was smitten with a sorrow 
that the world knew not of. Still Mr. Turton la- 
bored diligently in word and doctrine; but the 
stroke which removed the desire of his eyes — the 
companion who had shared in sweetest sympathy 
his hopes and fears, and whose enduring friendship 
had been his solace amid all outward trials — was 
lacerating his heart ; and after a few years he re- 
tired from the itinerant ranks, and patiently but 
hopefully awaits the summons, " Come up hither," 
and the commendation, " Well done, good and 
faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy 

Lord." 

8 



r 



114 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



Hobcrt Uotmg. 

M Much of easy dignity there lies 
In the frank lifting of his cordial eyes." 

The Rev. Robert Young may be well described as 
" a man with a presence," he being gifted with 
many of those physical advantages which con- 
tribute to a favorable first impression. His com- 
plexion is light and florid. His features are regular 
and well proportioned, except the mouth, which is 
rather small, and gives an air of precision to the 
face. This is redeemed by the eyes, which have 
a very benevolent expression. The whole coun- 
tenance indicates honesty and piety. To an agree- 
able physiognomy are added a well-built, robust, 
and imposing frame, and a good and powerful 
voice. His elocution is somewhat faulty, he hav- 
ing acquired a habit of giving a sharp, abrupt 
enunciation to the final syllable, and an internal 
reverberation at the close of a sentence. 

Mr. Young is a native of the north of England. 
In the year 1820, under a conviction of duty, 
wrought in his mind under a sermon by the Rev. 
Robert Newton, he offered himself for the mission- 
ary work, and was sent first to Jamaica, in the 
West Indies, and subsequently to Nova Scotia, 
where he labored with good success for three years. 
As may readily be supposed, a missionary's life on 
that station was attended with great hardships, 
and Mr. Young had his share. While he was fill- 
ing that appointment he experienced some remark- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 115 

able deliverances from danger and from death. 
One of these he related while I was riding with 
him to a country appointment, eight miles distant 
from Leeds, in a fog so thick that we could not 
see beyond our horses' heads. Mr. Young re- 
marked that the night brought to his recollection an 
interposition of divine Providence on his behalf 
while on the Nova Scotia mission. He was re- 
turning from night preaching, and had to cross a 
stream or river which was only fordable at ebb 
tide. The dense fog prevented his finding the ford ; 
and his horse soon began to stumble and flounder 
over the rocks which formed the bed of the river. 
Perceiving his error, and judging that the animal's 
instinct would be his best guide out of the diffi- 
culty, he threw the reins upon his neck, and by 
kind words encouraged him to seek a path for 
himself. The horse was, however, equally be- 
wildered by the fog, and refused to move. While 
yet pondering over his dilemma, he heard the dis- 
tant roar of the tide ; and well knew that in a few 
minutes it would overtake him, and that if it did 
so it would bring inevitable destruction. The 
horse seemed to have instinctively the same appre- 
hension ; and Mr. Young felt the animal trembling 
under him. He lifted up his heart in prayer, and 
was commending his spirit to God, when he heard 
from the opposite side the voice of a teamster ar- 
resting his team. The thought flashed upon his 
mind that the man had reached the ford, and had 
discovered that he was too late to cross. Mr. 



116 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

Young's horse, also, seemed to comprehend the 
matter, neighed loudly, and, obeying the whip and 
rem, dashed boldly across the rocky bed in the 
direction of the voice, and reached the opposite 
shore just in time to save his own and his master's 
life. So true it is, — 

" How are thy servants blest, O Lord ! 
How sure is their defense ! 
Eternal Wisdom is their guide ; 
Their help Omnipotence." 

Subsequently Mr. Young was again appointed 
to the West India Islands, where he was equally 
successful in winning souls to Christ, and secured, 
in an eminent degree, the affections of the poor 
slaves, and the confidence and good- will of their 
masters. In this sphere of labor he continued until 
the fell spirit of persecution was aroused, and he 
and his co-laborers were, for a season, prohibited 
from exercising their ministry. 

In the " Wesley an Centenary Takings," I find 
the following notice of the subject of this sketch : — 
" Robert Young — a powerful voice, and in general 
well managed. Good address : stirring — impas- 
sioned — melting — awakening. Not profound, nor 
yet lofty : mostly substantial. Seems to stand at 
the entrance of the way of life, beseeching, ex- 
horting, importuning, and pressing the multitude 
to turn the face, the foot, and the heart, in that 
direction. Exceedingly successful ; but more po- 
pular on the side of piety than of reading and ex- 
traordinary intellect. 'And the Lord added to 
the church dailv such as should be saved.' ' 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 11 7 

The only drawback to Mr. Young's excellence 
as a preacher is that he is too mechanical. He is, 
I presume, strictly a memoriter preacher. When 
warmed by his subject, he becomes impassioned ; 
but is sure to close his passages abruptly, like a 
steed suddenly checked by a strong hand and curb, 
when going at his full speed, or as though the 
rider had unexpectedly come upon a fence which 
he dared not leap. He seems timid about ventur- 
ing a single sentence beyond what he has prepared, 
though he makes good use of what has already 
been elaborated in his study. The evident caution 
with which he proceeds, especially in the earlier 
portions of his discourse, awakens almost an ap- 
prehension on his behalf, and in some degree with- 
draws the hearer's attention from the subject to 
the man ; yet it is soon apparent that the preacher's 
care is not so much for himself, or his reputation, 
as that he may keep in the very centre of what he 
believes to be the direct avenue to the hearts of 
some of his congregation, and that his sole concern 
is that his ministry may be effectual to their salva- 
tion. The application of his sermon is always for- 
cible, and often impetuous and overwhelming : now 
the preacher labors under no fear of getting over 
the lines. Having reached the citadel of the sin- 
ner's heart, he lifts the hammer of the word, and 
plies it vigorously against the bolted door, blow 
following blow with such rapidity and force that 
the fortress must indeed be impregnable if it yielded 
not to the assault. 



118 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

In one particular, Mr. Young is a pattern for all 
ministers. He preserves the dignity of the minis- 
terial office. In the pulpit, if he does not win the 
souls, he always secures the respect, of his audi- 
ence. All is solemnity, sobriety, and sanctified 
decorum. In his loudest tones and most impas- 
sioned moments he never seems to forget that he 
holds his commission from Jehovah, and is speaking 
in Christ's stead. Good taste marks all his pulpit 
and public exercises ; colloquialisms, vulgarisms, 
epigrammatic quirks and quaintnesses, never pollute 
the word which he preaches. ISTor, often as I have 
heard him preach, do I remember in the pulpit a 
single allusion, unless commendatory, to any other 
sect of professing Christians — not because he was 
not competent to pulpit controversy, for too often 
such are most prone to indulge in it, but that he 
believed the strength and time devoted to such 
controversy would be more successful in uprooting 
error if zealously devoted to preaching, with the 
demonstration of the Spirit, the truth as it is in 
Jesus. One cannot help thinking that some preach- 
ers hold an opposite opinion, and believe that the 
gospel is a less potent weapon for the world's con- 
version than controversy. 

The several small works which Mr. Young has 
written, give a just idea of his ministerial character 
and plans. The labors of few Wesleyan preachers 
have been more eminently crowned with success ; 
few have had such a career of continuous useful- 
ness, or have been instrumental in the conversion 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 119 

of so many who have continued steadfast in the 
faith. Mr. Young is a Boanerges, but that is not 
the great secret of his success. His word falls 
often as the dew of heaven, as the former and latter 
rain, upon the hearts of his hearers, winning them 
for Christ and heaven. He is, too, unwearied and 
unceasing in his labors. He knows no intermission ; 
from the day he enters upon his circuit to the day 
he leaves it — autumn, winter, spring, and summer 
— he ceases not from his work, and it is not at all 
unusual for marked revivals to continue many 
months, without intermission, in the circuit where 
he is stationed. 

Let me draw a picture of Mr. Young's method 
of conducting a Sunday evening prayer meeting. 
He has been preaching to a crowded congregation ; 
his subject has been, " the folly and danger of 
indecision." The large congregation have sung 
the third hymn ; prayer has been offered up, the 
benediction pronounced, and the people dismissed 
with the announcement that a prayer meeting will 
immediately be commenced — for the preacher usu- 
ally adopts that course, preferring that those only 
should remain who desire to do so. Very few 
comparatively have departed, and Mr. Young de- 
scends into the altar and gives out four or five 
verses of a hymn, the tune of which is struck by 
some member of the congregation, and the rest 
join with heart and voice in singing. Before prayer 
is commenced, (the official brethren having come 
into the neighborhood of the altar while the hymn 



120 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

was being sung,) the preacher addresses a few re- 
marks on the design of the prayer meeting, encourag- 
ing rather than urging any who desire to obtain mercy 
to come to the communion rails. He then calls 
by name upon two brethren to pray, and probably 
goes into the body of the house to invite to the 
altar any who may seem to be seriously disposed. 
When the brethren called upon are engaged in 
prayer, the minister gives out a couple of verses 
from the Methodist hymn-booh, which are sung to 
some tune known to all the congregation, who 
always rise and join in the singing. Thus, instead 
of being lookers on, or mere listeners, they them- 
selves take part in the exercise, and preserve within 
their own hearts, by participation, the hallowed 
emotions incident to the occasion. Those who 
approach the altar are counseled and prayed with 
by the senior brethren. After prayer the preacher 
again selects a verse or two of an appropriate hymn, 
again the people rise from their knees (the peni- 
tents alone remaining prostrate) and join in the 
singing, and, if deemed desirable, the minister se- 
lects a brother to give a short exhortation, or calls 
again upon two to pray, sometimes selecting such 
as are not in the neighborhood of the altar. This 
order is preserved until nine o'clock, when the 
meeting is dismissed with the announcement that 
it will be continued (if it appear desirable) an hour 
longer ; but the younger members of the congre- 
gation are requested to go to their homes. Some 
heads of families will, at this juncture, retire with 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 121 

their families, that family worship may be perform- 
ed before the younger branches retire to rest. The 
meeting then continues as before. Mr. Young 
generally stays to the close ; indeed, I do not re- 
member ever to have seen him leave a prayer 
meeting, though it should continue until eleven 
o'clock, or even till midnight. 

Meantime the penitents are properly cared for, 
and as one after another finds peace, it is publicly 
announced, and all join in singing, 

11 Praise God from whom all blessings flow," 

pealed forth with a heartiness which shows that 
all sympathize with the ransomed soul, and re- 
joice in its deliverance. Mr. Young is always 
careful to secure the name and residence of every 
seeker of salvation, and each is furnished with a 
list of the class leaders, and the place and time of 
each class meeting. During the week they are 
visited by a preacher's class leader, who ascertains 
what time is most convenient for them to attend 
that means of grace, and they are directed accord- 
ingly. I cannot do better than recommend to the 
reader Mr. Young's small volume — The Import- 
ance of Prayer Meetings in promoting Revivals of 
Religion, published at the Methodist Book Con- 
cern, where the plans he uniformly acts upon are 
defined and defended ; and earnestly too would I 
recommend to all who feel an interest in the ex- 
tension of the Redeemer's kingdom, the perusal of 
his Suggestions for the Conversion of the World. 



122 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



JDctnul Isaac. 

11 His words are strong, but not with anger fraught ; 
A lore benignant he hath lived and taught." — Chaucer. 

" Fearless he is and scorning all disguise ; 
What he dares do or think, though men may start, 
He speaks with mild yet unaverted eyes." — Cowper. 

The Methodist ministry has always been distin- 
guished for diversity of personal character and 
variety of talents and acquirements. Men of high 
and of low degree, blessed with worldly compe- 
tence or familiar with poverty — of classic taste or 
of ruder mind — sons of thunder and sons of conso- 
lation — from the plough and from the mechanic's 
shop — from all sorts and conditions of men has 
Methodism selected its ministry, and its vast agency 
for promoting the Redeemer's kingdom in the 
earth. Hitherto it has considered sterling and 
established piety, and strong practical good sense, 
the principal requisites for the successful preach- 
ing of the gospel, adding to these other qualifica- 
tions as circumstances might justify or demand. 
It has thus always met the wants of the multitude, 
and yet has produced some of the greatest orna- 
ments of their times. If Methodism were given to 
boasting, it might assert its claim to one of the 
greatest linguists England ever had, more than one 
perfect natural orator, and theologians worthy of 
the days of the Puritans. The last generation of 
Methodist preachers embraced many men of extra- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 123 

ordinary natural talents and great acquirements ; 
Bradburn, and Benson, and Clarke, and Watson, 
and Isaac, and Lessey, and others who have enter- 
ed into their rest ; and Bunting, and Newton, and 
Atherton, and Beaumont, and others who diligently 
labor in word and doctrine, looking for the coming 
of the Lord Jesus. 

The memory of the Rev. Daniel Isaac is blessed. 
All who knew him venerated him, not less for his 
high integrity and his genuine kindness of heart, 
than for the masculine, massive character of his 
mind. He entered the itinerancy in 1799, and 
closed his labors and life in the city of York in 
1834. He was somewhat remarkable in his per- 
sonal appearance ; of about the middle stature, of 
a sallow and imbrowned complexion, of strong and 
heavy frame, narrow shouldered, though otherwise 
muscular. The countenance strongly indicated the 
man. The forehead was high rather than wide, 
and until the latter years of his life additional ap- 
parent altitude was given to it by a premature 
baldness of the upper or front part of the head. 
When subsequently the peruke-maker had been 
employed to remedy the defect, the intellectuality 
of the whole was sadly marred. The eye was pe- 
culiar — a dark pupil in the centre of an unusually 
light gray ring, combining the expression of soft- 
ness, quickness, and penetration. The mouth was 
very expressive — the under lip slightly pouted, and 
the whole cynical in its character. His dress was 
unlike the dress of his brethren, and altogether 



124 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

at variance with clerical usage. His most com- 
mon apparel comprised a black straw or chip hat, 
drab nether garments, white or gray hose, strong 
shoes with leather ties, and an olive brown coat. 
Sometimes he appeared in the pulpit, as well as in 
the street, with the further peculiarity of a colored 
neckerchief and parti-colored vest. After having 
seen Mr. Isaac, and listened to his caustic severity 
on men and manners, it was almost impossible to 
avoid associating the idea of the ancient cynic with 
the modern " polemic divine." 

Yet with an excess of apparent and much real 
sternness of character, there were also great native 
generosity and kindness, even tenderness, in Mr. 
Isaac's disposition ; and these were manifest to all 
in whom he had confidence and on whose sterling 
worth he relied. He was a faithful, steadfast, sym- 
pathizing friend. The harsher features of the man 
were shown only to the affected and vain ; to those 
who walked on stilts, so to speak, and plumed 
themselves upon exterior proprieties at the expense 
of a true and manly excellence and the more solid 
virtues. To voluntary humility on the one hand, 
and to overweening pride on the other, he was an 
uncompromising foe ; but in the social circle, among 
those whom he knew and loved, he was affectionate 
and pleasant, and delighted in sallies of wit and 
good humor. Mr. Everett, his biographer, says of 
him, that with a pipe in his mouth, a basin of milk 
before him, and a little toast, often browned by 
himself, broken into fragments and fished up out 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 125 

of the liquid with the point of his penknife, as his 
evening repast, he envied not the luxury of a court, 
but threw a sunshine of comfort around the social 
circle, and could even enjoy the opposition and the 
puns of an anti-pipeite. On just such an occasion 
an elderly lady entered the room where he was sit- 
ting, and seeing him enjoying his pipe, lifted up her 
hands, as though shocked at the sight of so much 
self-indulgence, and exclaimed, "Ah, Mr. Isaac, 
you are at your idol again. " Looking up at her, 
with a quiet, demure expression, he replied, " Yes, 
madam, I 'm burning it." 

Mr. Isaac was, without doubt, ardently attached 
to the itinerancy, but even his " traveling " had its 
peculiarities. While most of the preachers prefer- 
red equestrian exercise when visiting the distant 
parts of their circuits, he was always a pedestrian 
from choice, and might often be seen in summer on 
the public highway, his vest unbuttoned, his coat 
laid over his arm, and his glazed hat in his hand, 
trudging cheerfully to his "appointment," the very 
picture of a hardy, contented farmer, caring for 
nothing among men but to maintain his independ- 
ence. His style of preaching was also unique. 
He copied from no man in anything, and in the 
pulpit was as fearless in the expression of his 
views as in private life. He often disregarded the 
mere textual division of a passage, and expatiated 
with great force on its doctrine or sentiment. It 
was a defect in his preaching, that while the truth 
from his lips struck with sledge-hammer force upon 



126 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

the conscience and judgment of the hearer, ther 
sermon lacked that persuasive tenderness by which, 
perhaps more than in any other way, sinners are 
brought to lay down the weapons of their rebellion, 
and seek reconciliation with God. 

Mr. Isaac seemed to be more immediately " set 
for the defense of the truth," and wo be to the 
man who dared to assail religion while he was on 
guard. Not that he contented himself with de- 
fense merely ; he was mighty in attack as well as 
bold in defense ; after driving the enemy from the 
walls of the citadel, he would make a vigorous 
sortie upon his forces, drive them from the strong- 
hold of unbelief, and bringing all his powers to 
bear upon the rebellious citadel, would use the bat- 
tering ram with such systematic, continuous force, 
that the breach was sure to be effected whether the 
enemy yielded or not. The writer well remembers 
a sermon Mr. Isaac preached in Brunswick Ghapel, 
Leeds, on the duty of union with the church of 
Christ, irrespective of denominational distinctions, 
in which he combated the various objections urged 
against church fellowship. Some of these were 
summarily disposed of as the mere subterfuges of 
a man not bold enough to be honest ; and then 
he took up the common excuse that the church is 
not what it professes to be, and that its members 
are far from being as good as they ought to be. 
This sermon was subsequently published. The 
following are nearly the very words in which this 
excuse was dealt with : — 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN TREACHERS. 127 

" You pretend," said he, " that the church is not 
good enough. Some of its members, you say, do 
not live up to their profession, but with all the 
noise they make about religion, are very loose in 
their morals. You tell us that you hate hypocrisy, 
and affirm, that if you were to join us, you would 
act a consistent part. The objection contains two 
causes of regret. The first is, that there should 
be some defective characters in the church. Our 
Saviour, however, has assured us tlfat some tares 
will grow up with the wheat, and that both must 
grow together until the harvest, or judgment. The 
gospel net incloses a great multitude of different 
kinds of fish, and must be drawn to the shores of 
eternity before the final separation is made, when 
the good will be gathered into vessels and the bad 
be cast away. In the present state of things, how- 
ever desirable it may be to find a perfect church, it 

is impossible ; the hypocrites may serve 

as a beacon to warn you against unfaithfulness. 
With all its defects, however, the church is su- 
perior to the world in supplying examples of holi- 
ness and the means of attaining it Now 

you boggle at the church because it is not quite 
perfect, and in the mean time remain in fellowship 
with the world. You profess to be religious, and 
your religion seems to consist in little else than 
vilifying the character of pious people, as though 
it would be a reproach to you to abandon such as 
make no profession for the sake of enjoying their 
society. 



128 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

" The other cause of regret is that so shining a 
Christian as you would make, if you were but 
among us, should deny us the benefit of your fel- 
lowship and example. You would live up to your 
profession. In your character there would be 
neither spot nor blemish, nor any such thing. You 
would be a perfect Christian. Why, you are the 
very man we need. You would make us ashamed 
of ourselves. Such a prodigy of piety would soon 
work miracle? among us, and rouse the most slug- 
gish to imitate such resplendent virtue ; and as for 
hypocrites, the most impenitent among them would 
not have face enough to look upon such a paragon 
of purity, but would flee from your presence as 
the Israelites did from Moses when he came down 
from the mount irradiated with divine glory. 
thou detestable hypocrite ! to prate about God's 
children, and undertake to hector them for coming 
short of perfection, when thou art thyself in league 
with sin, and canst not be persuaded to forsake it ; 
art seldom on thy knees praying to God secretly, 
and perhaps never worshiping with thy family; 
and art all the while affecting to be too holy for 
the society of those who, to say the least of it, are 
endeavoring to ' work out their salvation with fear 
and trembling.' You are very holy, no doubt ; but 
it looks a little suspicious that you decline the society 
of saints, and prefer the fellowship of sinners." 

Having indulged in this irony for some time, 
with an expression of contempt and scorn beytfnd 
description, he rested his left elbow upon the Bible, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 129 

and, leaning over the front of the pulpit, heaped 
warning upon rebuke, with a force of language 
which few men could surpass. 

Once he preached in Carver-street Chapel, 
Sheffield, from, "Lord, thou Jcnowest all things; 
thou Jcnowest that I love thee;" and with great 
force commented upon the infidelities of professing 
Christians. As he approached the application of 
his discourse, his dissatisfaction with the state of 
the church seemed to increase ; his eye flashed ; 
his lower lip assumed a pouting expression, the 
sure sign' that a storm of sarcastic rebuke was 
gathering; and he stood erect in the pulpit. 
" Why," he exclaimed, " even in your classes, 
among yourselves, how seldom is an open, un- 
equivocal avowal of your love to Christ heard ! 
You talk about loving Christ 'in a measure.' I 
should like to know what kind of a measure you use ; 
for I fear your love would not crack a nutshell if it 
were forced into it. But says one, ' I hope I do 
love God : I trust I love the Lord sincerely ;' and 
you quote sickly poetry to confirm your hope : — 

1 'Tis a point I long to know, 
Oft it causes anxious thought, 
Do I love the Lord, or no 1 
Am I his, or am I not V 

Wretched poetry, and worse divinity ! Away with 
such twaddle ! What would you think of a mo- 
ther thus addressing her infant ? 

1 'Tis a point I long to know, 

Oft it causes anxious thought, 
Do I love my child, or no 1 
Is it mine, or is it not V 
9 



130 SKETCHES OF WESLETAN PREACHERS, 

And yet you are guilty of the much greater ab- 
surdity." 

During the stay of Mr. Isaac in that circuit the 
people were favored with tokens of the divine pre- 
sence, and some of the members of the society, in 
lively gratitude for the " promise of a shower," 
were wont to say "amen," in an audible voice 
while the minister prayed that 

" the Lord would shortly pour 

All the spirit of his grace ;" 

and even went so far as to utter a like response 
during the sermon, when the preacher mingled an 
ejaculatory prayer with the more didactic portions 
of his discourse. In the estimation of some, this 
was an unjustifiable, if not unpardonable, interrup- 
tion to the train of placid thought in which their 
own unmoved hearts were wont to indulge ; and 
complaints were made to the trustees and stewards, 
accompanied by an intimation that unless the 
" disturbances " were abated they (certain wealthy 
members, who paid handsome rents for their pews) 
would be compelled to leave the church. This 
being a rather serious matter, the trustees repre- 
sented the case to Mr. Isaac ; and hinted that the 
loss of the complainants would, financially, be a 
misfortune. Mr. Isaac heard all without moving 
a muscle of his face, and then briefly remarked, 
" Leave it to me, brethren. I '11 try to put the 
matter right on Sunday morning." This was at 
the beginning of the week ; and as the trustees 
were much pleased with the prospect of the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 131 

matter being " put right," and taking it for granted 
that the promise implied all they wished, they 
could not forbear apprising the complaining parties 
of what the "superintendent" had said; and their 
joy at the information being very great, must needs 
also find utterance ; so that by Saturday night it 
was pretty generally understood that " Mr. Isaac 
was going to put down those shouters " — that being 
the conclusion to which all parties came, as by 
common consent. As for those against whom the 
terrible battery of his irony was to be directed, 
they scarcely dared to open their lips, and were so 
cast down that they hesitated about being present 
at the morning preaching, albeit they were good 
men and true, and loved the ministry of the life- 
giving word. They abided by their principles, 
however, and were in their accustomed seats ; but 
though Mr. Isaac prayed with unusual fervor, their 
responses were "few and far between." Under 
the fear of man, they were ensnared, to their own 
hurt: 

" Hosamias languished on their tongues, 
And their devotion died." 

The congregation was large, and an undefinable 
excitement pervaded it. The text was announced : 
"Let all things be done decently and in order." 
Significant glances were exchanged. The response- 
makers hung down their heads, and the anti- 
response members lifted up theirs, while the 
neutrals looked compassionately at the " noisy 
brethren," and then at the preacher, as though 



132 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

they would beseech him not to be too severe, see- 
ing that the offenders were good Christians, and 
really meant well, though they did say " amen " in 
a louder tone than some others. "Let all things 
be done decently and in order" repeated the preach- 
er, looking leisurely round upon the large audience, 
as though he would ask who disputed the apos- 
tolic injunction. " No one here," said he, " dis- 
putes the authority of the rule, or doubts its ap- 
plicability to the public worship of God. We 
will therefore at once enter upon the inquiry, What 
is the order here enjoined by the Head of the 
church, adhered to by the primitive Christians, and 
still obligatory upon the church of Christ ?" He 
then showed that in the apostolic age, in the days 
of the "fathers," even amid the corruptions of 
the Papal Church, and especially in the purer and 
more evangelical periods of the church's history, 
the plan of responding to petitions addressed to 
the throne of the heavenly Grace was universally 
adopted. The surprise of the congregation was 
imbounded. Those who enjoyed a sincere and 
audible response were rejoiced ; those who did not 
were compelled to submit ; and, as Mr. Isaac had 
promised, the matter was from that time "put 
right." That sermon was the nucleus of his 
popular essay on the word " amen." 

An instance of the indignant and sarcastic se- 
verity with which he sometimes reproved open 
profanity occurred while he was stationed in the 
Sheffield circuit. An infidel bookseller, copying, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 133 

and probably emboldened by, the example of a 
London tradesman of infamous memory, exhibited 
in his shop window a hideous and obscene picture, 
as a representation of the sacred Trinity ; and, sur- 
passing the metropolitan in utter and shameless 
profanity, attached a label to the picture, to the 
effect that a portrait of the devil was wanted as a 
companion picture. This caught Mr. Isaac's eye 
as he passed, and his righteous anger was awaken- 
ed. Stepping into a grocer's shop on the opposite 
side of the street, he asked for pen, ink, and paper, 
and hastily scrawling these words, addressed them 
to the offender : " Sir, if you want a portrait of the 
devil, get your own taken ; for who so like the 
father as the son? — D. Isaac." " There," said 
Mr. I. to the clerk, " just take that to the vile fel- 
low across the way." The young man declined, per- 
haps thinking it unneighborly, or fearing an unplea- 
sant result. "Then I '11 take it," said Mr. Isaac. The 
message was soon noised abroad, for the grocer told 
many of his friends ; and, in the course of the day, 
first one vagrant boy, and then another wicked 
urchin, would put his head just inside the door of the 
infidel's shop, in the window of which the offensive 
requisition was still suspended, and call out, " Get 
your own taken, for who so like the father as the 
son?" On the following day, quite a crowd of 
youngsters was assembled, and the inquiry was 
repeated in almost every possible modulation of 
voice, until the wretched man was so annoyed that 
he called in the aid of the police. This but in- 



134 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

creased the notoriety of the rebuke, and that again 
swelled the numbers of the crowd. The public 
feeling, too, was with the boys, for common de- 
cency had been outraged. The result was, that in 
the course of two or three days the man was obliged 
to close his shop and decamp, unable to withstand 
the torrent of ridicule and contempt which Mr. 
Isaac had been the means of turning upon him. 

Though of no circumscribed fame as a preacher, 
it was, perhaps, by his controversial writings that 
the subject of this sketch was most widely known, 
I think his earliest publication made its appearance 
in 1802 or 1803, bearing the title, " Universal Re- 
storation Refuted, in a Series of Letters addressed 
to Mr. W. Vidler." This Mr. Vidler visited a place 
in the Lynn circuit, when Mr. Isaac was stationed 
there, and, while advocating his peculiar doctrines, 
took frequent occasion, as was common in that day, 
to heap abuse and calumny upon the Methodists. 
The attention of Mr. Isaac was drawn to the sub- 
ject ; he took an opportunity of hearing for himself, 
made memoranda of various points, called upon 
Mr. Yidler with the notes the following morning ; 
and that gentleman having acknowledged their ac- 
curacy, Mr. Isaac apprised him that he regarded 
his doctrines as of so injurious a tendency, that he 
deemed it his duty to guard his congregation 
against them ; and that with an honest desire not 
to misrepresent Mr. Vidler's sentiments, he had 
called upon him for the confirmation of what he 
supposed him to teach. The course taken by Mr. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 135 

Isaac was like himself, for he was as proverbially 
candid in stating an opponent's views, as he was 
severe in controverting them. This publication, 
which is said to have borne the palpable impress 
of his vigorous mind, has been more than once 
reprinted in this country. 

In 1809 he published a small volume of ser- 
mons, on the " Person of Jesus Christ," of which 
it has been with truth remarked, that " in them the 
divinity of the Son of God is established by Scrip- 
tural evidence, and by a process of reasoning rarely 
brought to bear upon the subject in so small a 
compass/ ' 

Mr. Isaac's next work, and that which will pro- 
bably be the most permanent, as of all his writings 
it had, during his lifetime, the widest popularity, 
was his Ecclesiastical Claims Investigated. It was 
printed in Edinburgh, in 1815. It has passed 
through several editions, but has not, I believe, 
been republished in America. It consists of five 
essays, treating respectively of uninterrupted suc- 
cession, ordination, the spiritual gifts and powers 
of the clergy, learning and ministerial qualifications. 
The preface plainly indicates that the author had 
no intention to treat the subject with unnecessary 
tenderness. The design of the publication was 
conceived soon after the defeat of " Lord Sidmouth's 
bill," and its execution was hastened by a new in- 
terpretation given to the "Act of Toleration," by 
which, as the author contended, religious liberty 
was reduced to nearly a cypher. Any infringement 



136 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

of liberty was sure to find in Mr. Isaac a fearless 
and uncompromising foe. His soul abhorred in- 
tolerance and tyranny in every form or association. 
He was both active and successful in opposing the 
bill of Lord Sidmouth. His advice, during those 
days of anxiety, when Dissenters of every grade 
were alarmed for the safety of their dearest rights, 
— the wisdom with which he drew up a series of 
resolutions for adoption at a meeting of Wesleyan 
Methodists, and the influence of his example, pointed 
him out at once as a " leader unto the people/' The 
same jealousy of encroachment showed itself in 
reference to all merely sectional and local mat- 
ters. 

Soon after the defeat of that vile attempt to de- 
stroy religious liberty in Great Britain, and to re- 
establish the waning supremacy of the hierarchy 
of the Established Church — which defeat was ow- 
ing in a great degree to the vigorous measures 
adopted by the Wesleyan committee of privileges, 
and to the personal exertions of Dr. Adam Clarke, 
Mr. Isaac, Mr. Bunting, and others, in carrying 
out those measures — a new interpretation was 
given to the Act of Toleration, simultaneously at 
every quarter-sessions in the kingdom, with one 
or two exceptions, in consequence of which all ap- 
plications for license to preach were refused to Me- 
thodists on the technical objection that the act was 
not designed to embrace them, and extended only 
to those who were openly, avowedly, and conscien- 
tiously Dissenters. This sudden and universal 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 137 

change in the interpretation of that act by the ma- 
gistracy of the land was at first incomprehensible, 
but the mystery was shortly solved as it was as- 
certained that a circular had been sent to every 
court, instructing the magistrates in this new read- 
ing, said circular emanating from the concocters 
and abettors of the defeated bill, notwithstanding 
the repeated avowal, by the same parties in parlia- 
ment, that no infringement of the religious rights 
and privileges of any denomination was intended 
by it. This attempt to do that by underhand 
practice which they had publicly disavowed, ex- 
cited Mr. Isaac's alarm and indignation, and was 
with him the moving cause in writing his " Eccle- 
siastical Claims ;" for though the Methodists and 
Dissenters had demanded and obtained a new 
toleration act, yet Mr. Isaac rightly concluded that 
it was best more fully to secure public opinion in 
behalf of the principles of religious liberty, as the 
only guaranty that the rights of conscience should 
continue to be protected. He observes : " Acts 
of parliament are of very little consequence if not 
supported by public opinion. When the sense of 
the nation is opposed to them, they will soon 
grow obsolete or be repealed." Nor did he like 
the preamble to the new act, which avowed that 
the measure was framed solely on principles of 
expediency — "Whereas it is expedient'' &c. — so 
that could public opinion be enlisted against reli- 
gious freedom, the expediency would be declared 
no longer to exist, the act would be repealed, and 



138 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

the Act of Uniformity would be revived. More- 
over, while much had been said in parliament and 
elsewhere in favor of religious liberty, yet was 
there nothing, either in the old or new act of tolera- 
tion, distinctly recognizing the rights of conscience ; 
and Mr. Isaac saw that in the absence of such re- 
cognition by the law of the land — while indeed a 
declaratory preamble negatived those rights by 
placing the passage of the act on the basis of ex- 
pediency — there was security for the permanence 
of religious liberty only in enlightened public opi- 
nion. To that tribunal he made his appeal ; and 
never, perhaps, were great principles more summa- 
rily dealt with, nor long-established usages more 
unceremoniously beaten to the ground. This is 
not the place to enter into a discussion or analysis 
of Mr. Isaac's arguments in this book. Suffice it 
to say, that the severity of its tone, the fearless- 
ness of its rebukes, its unsparing and almost mer- 
ciless invectives, and its bold and well-sustained 
claims for the equal right of all preachers of the 
gospel to minister in holy things without interrup- 
tion, at once startled the community and excited 
general attention. Although the sentiments of the 
author could not properly be said to involve the 
body of which he was a member, yet there is al- 
ways, in such a case, a tendency in the public 
mind to attribute to the body opinions which a 
prominent member deliberately publishes, especi- 
ally when the position of the body, in reference to 
the subject discussed, is somewhat doubtful, as 



SKETCHES OF WE8LEYAN PREACHEHS. 139 

was the case with the British Conference of the 
Wesley an Methodists. 

The pertinacity with which both Churchmen and 
Dissenters persisted in attributing the sentiments 
avowed by Mr. Isaac, in reference to the principle 
of an established church, to his brethren in the 
ministry, gave many of them considerable annoy- 
ance, they not holding his extreme views — many 
dissenting from them totally — and, perhaps, all 
disapproving of the severe and uncourteous lan- 
guage of many parts of the book. It is doubtful, 
however, whether the Conference would officially 
have taken notice of the matter but for the follow- 
ing circumstances. Mr. Isaac desired to advertise 
his work in the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine. A 
committee, appointed annually by the Conference, 
is charged with the oversight of all advertisements 
and other business matters connected with the 
Magazine, who, after due deliberation, judged it 
best to refuse the application, principally on the 
ground that the announcement of such a book by 
a Methodist preacher, through the Methodist Maga- 
zine, the recognized organ of the body, might be 
construed into an approval of its contents and its 
spirit ; or that at least it would be a tacit acknow- 
ledgment that it was not deemed objectionable, 
since a paragraph stands at the head of the ad- 
vertising sheet, advising the public that a supervi- 
sory power is exercised. At any rate the com- 
mittee had a right to exclude the advertisement 
if they thought proper ; and, perhaps, under the 



140 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

circumstances they acted wisely, and in accordance 
with their responsibility to the Conference. The 
dispute between the Dissenters and the friends of 
the Established Church was then running very 
high. The Wesleyan Conference had always stood 
aloof from the quarrel ; and the committee as faith- 
ful stewards were bound to take this fact into con- 
sideration. Mr. Isaac, however, felt aggrieved by 
their refusal ; and some of his less judicious friends 
made it a matter of serious complaint. At the en- 
suing Conference the committee presented their 
report, and as much censure had been cast upon 
this action, it was made the subject of full expla- 
nation and remark. The report was accepted, and 
the following resolution was adopted, by a vote of 
one hundred and nineteen to eighty-six : — 

" Resolved, That the Conference approve of the 
conduct of their book committee in London, in 
having refused to facilitate the circulation of a 
book on Ecclesiastical Claims, which was printed 
in Scotland, and published by a member of our 
connection ; and deem it a public duty to declare, 
in the fear of God, their most decided disapproba- 
tion of various passages contained in it, as well as 
of the general spirit and style of it, which the Con- 
ference believe to be unbecoming and unchristian.' ' 

In the year 1820 Mr. Isaac was appointed to 
the Leicester circuit, and there formed an acquaint- 
ance with the great Robert Hall, which ripened 
into a warm and permanent friendship. Differ- 
ently as the two men were constituted, they had 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 141 

some sentiments in common — the same ardent love 
of liberty, and something of the same abruptness 
of manner, and each delighted in burning his idol. 
In their style of preaching they differed widely. 
At each other's houses they would sit together for 
hours conversing and smoking, canvassing the wor- 
thies of theological literature, and bewailing the 
mental dwarfishness and the puerility of modern 
days. Leicester might almost be said to be the 
head quarters of the Baptist denomination in Eng- 
land. Yet here, with the prospect of remaining 
probably two years on the circuit, Mr. Isaac pub- 
lished his next work, entitled " Baptism Discussed ; 
containing Scripture Principles, Precepts, and Pre- 
cedents, in favor of Baptism of Infants and Lit- 
tle Children." Some surprise was excited by 
this publication, because the author's intimacy 
with Mr. Hall, the champion of the opposite view, 
was well known. A second edition was soon called 
for. An anecdote, similar to one current respect- 
ing Fletcher's Checks, is told in relation to this 
volume. Some one inquired of Mr. Hall if he had 
read Mr. Isaac's work. "No," said he, "I have 
not read it, and I do not intend to read it. I know 
exactly what he would say. We are very good 
friends, and I intend that we shall remain so." 

To all forms of prayer in public worship, and to 
instrumental music in churches, Mr. Isaac had a 
great dislike. I do not know, however, that he 
ever carried his opposition to the latter so far as 
did the Rev. Philip Garrett, who, on one occasion, 



142 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

it is said, declared from the pulpit that " if he saw 
the devil running away with that box of whistles, 
(meaning the organ,) he would not cry, ' Stop 
thief.' " The introduction of organs into Methodist 
chapels Mr. Isaac strenuously opposed, and pub- 
lished his sentiments in the form of a pamphlet, 
entitled Vocal Melody. His known sentiments on 
this subject led the Leeds separatists to expect his 
co-operation in their opposition to the action of the 
Conference authorizing the erection of an organ in 
Brunswick Chapel. In this they reckoned without 
their host. So soon as he saw that the organ was 
made a stalking horse for ulterior objects and radi- 
cal changes, he turned his face against them, warmly 
defending his brethren from the unchristian imputa- 
tions which were cast upon them. He also differed 
from the majority of the Conference on the ques- 
tion of ordination by the laying on of hands ; and 
at the London Conference of 1822 made an able 
and powerful speech upon the subject. This was 
part of his deep rooted Dissent, for he was a 
Dissenter in principle, and it was probably from a 
knowledge of this, that the Conference never ap- 
pointed him to a circuit where the form of church 
prayer was read in the chapels. 

About the year 1825 the Roman Catholics made 
a vigorous attempt to regain something of their 
former power in Great Britain, and directed their 
efforts especially against the British and Foreign 
Bible Society. Mr. Isaac promptly came to the 
rescue, for he was as ardent an opponent of Po- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 143 

pery as any Protestant could desire. He had it 
in contemplation to publish " A Short and Easy 
Method with the Roman Catholics," adopting part 
of the title, with something of the plan, of Leslie's 
unanswerable treatise against the deists. The 
doctrine of transubstantiation was to be the prin- 
cipal point of attack, because, as he observed, and 
the remark showed that he knew where his strength 
lay, " it was as capable of being made to appear 
ridiculous as any topic that could be suggested.'' 
And to a friend he further characteristically said, — 
" If my way to the citadel is clear by one entrance, 
that will be as good as a thousand minor ones ; 
and to go in search of others would be a needless 
waste of time." A condensed argument on tran- 
substantiation from the pen of Mr. Isaac would 
have been of great value, and would doubtless 
have produced a powerful effect. Protestants can- 
not but regret that he did not carry out his purpose. 
One other work remains to be noticed, in which 
his talents were united with those of his friend, 
Rev. James Everett. It was a master-piece of wit 
and irony, and attracted much attention. It was 
called " The Head-piece and the Helmet ; or Phre- 
nology incompatible with Reason and Revelation ;" 
and was in the form of conversations between 
"Isaac, the seer," (Mr. Isaac,) and " James, the 
less," (Mr. Everett.) The miscalled science of 
phrenology was most unmercifully quizzed, and its 
infidel tendencies were strikingly pointed out in 
this work. 



144 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

Great was the gloom cast over the Methodist So- 
cieties when the intelligence was spread through the 
various circuits that Daniel Isaac had been stricken 
down by paralysis — it seemed an unfitting end for 
such a man, and was certainly unexpected. That 
he should linger out his days in helplessness and 
gloom was an unwelcome thought to all, and the 
sufferer himself submitted to the dispensation with 
less reluctance than did his friends, thereby show- 
ing that the principles he had taught while he 
" labored in word and doctrine" were those upon 
which he himself was prepared to act, when op- 
portunity was given him. Of his final hours I 
know but little — or rather can, at this distance of 
time, recall but little. The following extract from 
the Minutes of the Conference will supply my lack 
of information : — 

" On Sunday, May 20th, 1832, he was in Man- 
chester, for the purpose of preaching in behalf of a 
Sunday school, when he was seized with paralysis, 
from the deplorable effects of which he never fully 
recovered. At the following Conference he was 
so far restored as to justify his third appointment 
to his old and favorite station, the York circuit ; 
but he only preached once or twice, and then sunk, 
the hopeless and sorrowful victim of a disease 
which no art could remove, and which no atten- 
tions could assuage. The powers of his mind were 
awfully impaired. The long and affecting strug- 
gle between a mind naturally active and vigorous, 
and a body worn out by an incurable malady, ter- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 145 

minated in his happy death, on Friday, March 21st, 
1834. Although the event had been long ex- 
pected, it produced, notwithstanding, a great sen- 
sation ; and his funeral, which took place on the 
following Thursday, served to show that his friends 
in York and its neighborhood had not lost their re- 
collection of his worth ; a long train of voluntary 
mourners giving to the solemnity an unusual and 
affecting interest. Daniel Isaac was an eminent, a 
good, and a useful man ; and has passed into that 
blessed state, in which, with his brethren that had 
gone before, he for ever proves that his ' labor has 
not been in vain in the Lord.' " 

A great and good man was Daniel Isaac, doing 
everything from principle and a conviction of duty. 
More polished shafts has God employed in the 
ministry — a truer man, never. Kind, and gener- 
ous, and self-denying, he was yet firm in the main- 
tenance of the right, just toward all, and enjoyed 
with a grateful heart the pleasures of social inter- 
course. At the call of duty he would leave the 
sweetest delights of converse and home to minister 
to the wants of the poor, and to visit the widow 
and the fatherless. Verily he hath now his reward ; 

" Far from a world of grief and sin, 
With God eternally shut in." 
10 



146 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS, 



JScnmul $kk. 

" Jest not at preacher's language or condition ; — 
How knowest thou but thy sins made him miscarry ? 
Then turn thy faults and his into confession. 
God sent him, whatsoe'er he be. O tarry, - 
And love him for his Master ! His condition, 
Though it be ill, makes him no ill physician." 

Herbert's Church Porch. 

Samuel Hick, the "Village Blacksmith/ ■ was a 
Wesleyan Methodist local preacher ; but his fame 
and usefulness were not confined to his own lo- 
cality. As a preacher, he alone was his own 
parallel, nor is it likely that nature and grace will 
again meet in so strange a combination. His per- 
sonal appearance, especially when in connection 
with his pulpit ministrations, made a first impres- 
sion not the most favorable. His " huge, unwieldy, 
Herculean frame," his ungainly gait, his coarse and 
strongly marked features, his disregard of fitting 
habiliments — all tended to this ; but the feeling 
gave way before closer observation. The coarse- 
ness of the features was compensated by a broad 
good-humor, that lurked not in the eye, nor about 
the mouth, but played over the whole face — like 
the reflection of light upon a polished surface — 
assuming something of shrewdness as it lingered 
for a moment in his small quick eye, then irradiat- 
ing his whole countenance with sincerity, and good- 
ness, and gushing good- will to all mankind. As 
he ascended the pulpit stairs, they would creak 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 147 

beneath his ponderous frame. The opening hymn 
would be read in a broad Yorkshire dialect : 

"We knato, by faath we Jcnaw, 
If this vile hoose of claah, 
This tabernacle sink belaw. 
In rooinous decaah ;" 

yet with an intensity of feeling which could pro- 
ceed only from the heart of one who testified of 
that of which he felt ; and his utterance of the hymn 
won the heart of at least the pious portion of his 
congregation. The spirit which animated his 
soul passed like lightning through the assembly ; 
the holy fire was kindled in their souls ; and all 
joined heartily in singing the joyous anthem. On 
such an occasion the writer first heard " Sammy 
Hick " preach. The man of God was then far 
past the meridian of life, and was somewhat infirm. 
At the conclusion of the first hymn, he slowly 
knelt down, and remained silent a few seconds ; 
then lifting up his voice, he commenced an earnest 
supplication, with great power, and clothed in 
language remarkable for its simplicity. Prayer 
was his stronghold ; not that he had studied the 
subject, but he had habitually practiced the duty, 
and it had become his delight. He knew nothing 
of formularies, was ignorant of what divines have 
pronounced essential to the composition of public 
prayer, and had read none of their elaborate trea- 
tises. He had learned " a more excellent way." 
All he desired to know was that God was his re- 
conciled Father, ever more willing to bestow than 



148 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

his child was to receive. No plan or arrangement 
seemed to him so natural as asking directly for the 
blessing which he believed that he or his congre- 
gation needed ; and his first petition generally was, 
"Lord, teach us how to pray." The possibility of 
not being heard in the thing that he prayed for 
never entered his thoughts ; and in this, doubtless, 
lay his strength, and the wonderful prevalency of 
his intercessions. He believed the Saviour, who 
had said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in 
my name, it shall be given unto you :" "be it ac- 
cording to thy faith.' ' On one occasion, when 
some one of weaker faith suggested to him that he 
was a little bold in his petitions, his reply was 
characteristic of the man : " Hey ! bless thee, bairn, 
that 's the way I get what I want. Try it, bairn, 
try it. It answers wefi. M He was indeed mighty 
in prayer, and would take no denial.* On this oc- 
casion he indulged in no expressions which seemed 
designed to propitiate Jehovah, nor did he usually. 
He knew that a path was opened to the mercy- 
seat, and consecrated to the believer ; and he 
therefore approached the throne of grace without 

* Mr. Everett, in his Life of Dawson, relates, that once at a 
prayer meeting, where Hick was present, one of the mourners had 
failed to find peace. As Samuel, after the benediction was pro- 
nounced, was leaving the house, some of the friends said to him, 
" You will not leave the person in distress ?" " Bless you, bairns, " 
he sharply returned : " she will serve as a match to kindle the fire 
with to-morrow night." As nothing like contrivance or manage- 
ment ever entered into Sammy's thoughts or arrangements, he 
must have been somewhat wanting in faith, or failing in physical 
strength, when he made this reply. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 149 

circumlocution, entering into the holiest place as 
one who had often been there ; as one who knew 
that he had a standing invitation, (as he would 
have said,) and was always welcome. He never 
made long prayers, either "for a pretence," or 
with a better motive ; but followed the advice with 
which he would sometimes interrupt a long-winded 
brother in the prayer meeting, and " prayed short," 
seldom exceeding five minutes, but in that time he 
had asked for great things, and the power of the 
Holy One had descended upon himself and upon 
the people. 

I cannot recall the preacher's text at this dis- 
tant time, but the lapse of memory is of no import- 
ance, as " Sammy's " text seldom returned to him 
after it went out from him, and his sermon was not 
adapted to remind his congregation that he had 
ever selected one. The passage announced, his 
large features glowing with the warmth of love, he 
commenced thus : " ISToo, friends, I 'm not bown 
[going] to preach ye a sarmon : you mun [must] 
take it warm off 't backst'n.* I never but yance 
[once] made a sarmon i' my life ; an' then I cam 
into 't chapel as prood as the divel an' my sar- 
mon could mak me. At 't first step o't pulpit 
stairs awaay went text ; upo 't second step 't in- 
troduction went ; upo 't third step 't first heead 
were goon ; upo 't fowrth step I lost 't second 

* Backstone : a large circular iron plate, "used in Yorkshire to 
bake what are called " short cakes," which are eaten at breakfast 
or tea hot as they are taken off the backstone. 



150 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

heead ; an' afore I gat into 't pulpit 't sarmon an' 
't application were all goon. So I kneeled doon, 
and prayed for marcy ; and promised the Lord 
that if he 'd pardon me that yance, I 'd nivver 
mak another sarmon as lang as I lived. [Sammy 
had the reputation of having conscientiously kept 
that vow.] But bless ye, friends, I hev summut 
to tell ye. Bless the Lord, I 'm as happy as a 
king ! The Lord 's pardoned my sins ; and he '11 
pardon yours, if you'll nubbut [only] repent and 
believe." And blending with them snatches of his 
own joyful experience, he launched out into faith- 
ful reproof, exhortation, and encouragement, with 
such unction from on high, and occasionally with 
such shrewdness and force, that the most volatile 
were overawed, and sinners trembled before the 
word of the Lord. At the conclusion of the ser- 
vice, a prayer meeting was held, at which fruits 
of his ministry appeared. 

Sammy Hick (for I can call him by no less 
familiar name — had any one addressed him as Mr. 
Hick, it is doubtful whether Sammy would have 
known that he was meant) had a careful wife, 
known as Matty : a woman of sound principle, who, 
while somewhat jealous of her husband's genero- 
sity, was always ready to contribute according to 
her ability when circumstances justified liberality. 
She kept a watchful eye upon his movements, 
and was sometimes a check upon his impulses, 
not only in the matter of giving, but also some- 
times in other ways. Sammy betrayed this on 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 151 

one occasion, much to the amusement of those 
who heard him. 

He was not often called upon to co-operate at 
missionary meetings, in which respect he differed 
very widely from another popular and eccentric local 
preacher — " Billy Dawson, the Yorkshire farmer" 
— a sketch of whom will be found in this volume. 
Herein, it must be acknowledged, the managers 
of those meetings exercised a wise discretion. 
Platform- speaking was not the department of la- 
bor in which our subject most shone, or felt most 
at home. He was a man of "one idea" — his en- 
grossing desire being the present salvation of every 
sinner within the sound of his voice, and to this 
phase of 

" A yearning pity for mankind, 
A burning charity," 

he sought to make everything subservient. Occa- 
sionally, however, he appeared upon the platform 
as the advocate of gospel missions to the heathen ; 
and once in the city of York. The Rev. Richard 
Watson, then one of the missionary secretaries, at- 
tended the same meeting, with other popular di- 
vines. The chapel was crowded, and York audi- 
ences are proverbial for respectability and intelli- 
gence. It is believed that the committee having 
the management of the meeting had some mis- 
givings about having invited Sammy, and the 
earlier to get rid of their anxiety arranged for him 
to speak first, after the reading of the report. He 
smiled when his name was announced, for he had 



152 SKETCHES OF WESLETAN PREACHERS. 

a spark of innocent and pardonable vanity, and 
with a peculiar and ungraceful action, consequent 
upon not wearing suspenders, approached the 
front of the platform, and in a strong voice ex- 
claimed, " Let 's sing a bit ;" giving out with his 
usual energy and breadth of dialect his favorite 
verse : — 

" This is the ivaak the prophets went, 
The road that leads frae banishment ; 
The King's highwaah of holiness, — 
I'll g-oa, for all his paths are peace." 

He struck the time and sung the verse through 
almost before the congregation had recovered from 
their surprise at this novel mode of conducting a 
missionary meeting. His associates on the plat- 
form looked unutterable things at each other, and 
Mr. Watson's countenance plainly indicated the 
shock which his fine taste and high sense of pro- 
priety had received. The stanza concluded, Sam- 
my Hick, undaunted by the general amazement, 
commenced his speech by relating his religious ex- 
perience — " Bless the Lord ! Glory be to God ! 
I'se very happy. We're hoxmi to have a good 
time, friends. I feel the fire burning i' my heart, — 

'Praise God for what he ? s done for me, 
I yance was blind, but noo I see ; 
I on the brink of ruin fell, 
Glory to God I'se not in hell.' " 

He continued in this strain for a few minutes, much 
to the annoyance of Mr. Watson, who, at length, 
left the platform to conceal his mortification. The 
"Village Blacksmith " was then unknown to him, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 153 

but was, on better acquaintance, loved and honored 
by him. The people, however, understood Sammy. 
His earnest simplicity and the warm glow of his 
piety had its effect upon them, and soon there was 
the " shout of a king in the camp." *This set the 
speaker on his high horse, and he plunged at 
once into the heart of the great subject he was 
expected to advocate, picturing in short but forci- 
ble sentences the misery of the heathen, who 
knew nothing of Christ and his precious salvation, 
and the duty of those who had experienced his 
saving grace, until throwing off all restraint he de- 
clared, with much feeling and equal simplicity, — 
" Why, bless ye, friends, I 'd gang [go] for a mis- 
sionary to-morn [to-morrow] if it 'd please God to 
remove t' hinderance, but my old Matty weant let 
me, but may be" — The remainder of the sen- 
tence was lost in a perfect outbreak of laughter, 
which disconcerted him a little, and he turned to 
the chairman as though he would ask an explana- 
tion. The chairman himself, then mayor of the 
city, was in the midst of a smothered cachinnation, 
but he contrived to stammer out, " Go on, Sammy, 
go on," whereupon the speaker resumed, without 
altering a muscle of his face or in any other way 
betraying the consciousness of having made any 
extraordinary revelation ; and a good feeling was 
excited in that meeting which warmed many cold 
hearts, and promoted the spiritual welfare of the 
people as well as the pecuniary interests of the 
missionary cause ; albeit the good man's confes- 



154 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

sion about the hinderance, coupled with Matty's re- 
fusal to let him go, remained a standing joke at 
his expense. He meant to say nothing more than 
that the circumstance of having an aged and faith- 
ful wife dependent upon him was a reason why he 
should not go, but that if God should indicate his 
will, that Sammy should take his life in his hand 
and go forth to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, 
by such a dispensation as the removal of Matty, 
no personal consideration would for a moment 
make him disobedient to the heavenly call.* 

Many instances of overflowing kindness of heart 
and readiness to relieve the wants of others, with- 
out regard to cost or labor, are related of Samuel 
Hick. The following may be taken as a fair speci- 
men. Calling upon his sister one day at Tadcaster, 
he said, " Thou hast a poor fire." She returned, 
"We are not so near the pit as you." He made 
no reply, went home, rose early the next morning, 
proceeded to the pit, loaded his cart, and before 
eight o'clock left a load of coals before his sister's 
door, and returned home without looking into the 
house — being a distance of twenty miles there and 
back. The neighbors, as the coals lay undisturbed, 
said to her, " Why don't you get your coals in ?" 

* On one occasion, says Mr. Everett, a grave man on a mission- 
ary platform, knowing that Samuel had to speak, whispered to him, 
"Let us have no levity to-day, Sammy." When he arose, he ob- 
served, " Mr. J., sitting there, [pointing to him,] says, ' Let us have 
no levity to-day.' Why, bless him, as to himself, he can nother mak 
folk laugh nor cry." To another gentleman, who said, " Be short, 
Sammy," as he arose to speak, he smartly returned, " Stop a bit ; 
I 've not begun yet." 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 155 

She looked surprised, and could not be persuaded 
that she had any claim to them until she was in- 
formed that her brother had placed them there. 

All untutored in the customs and fashions of 
the world as was the " Village Blacksmith," no 
man was a more welcome guest among the wealthy 
and intelligent members of the Methodist societies, 
for he carried a blessing with him wherever he 
went. His ingenuousness and simplicity atoned for 
any lack of more fashionable qualifications. He 
was a living exemplification of the truth, — " If 
thine eye be single thy whole body shall be full of 
light." His singleness of purpose saved him from 
restraint or awkwardness : rude he could not be ; 
his heart was too full of gentleness and love t He 
yearned to teach others the way of salvation, and 
to lead them in paths of righteousness. He would 
fain have imparted to all within his reach the per- 
fect love which he enjoyed, and which he preached 
in the domestic circle as well as from the pulpit. 
Perhaps no man was more sensitive to the tem- 
perature of the spiritual atmosphere around him, 
and when he found it less fervid than his own he 
was promptly upon his knees, asking for a fresh 
infusion of the heavenly fire into that family. Such 
was Samuel Hick, always rejoicing, yet always 
praying for larger blessings ; always faithful in re- 
proving sin and lukewarmness, yet seldom giving 
offense by his fidelity, because it was always appa- 
rent that love for souls was his governing and only 
motive. He died as he lived, in the triumph of 



156 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

faith, and will shine in glory " as the stars for ever 
and ever," for he " turned many to righteous- 
ness. " * 

* A characteristic circumstance is related of the death of this 
good man. His mammoth bulk has already been referred to. 
Shortly before his death he became apparently unconscious, and 
the mourners around his bed spoke in low whispers of his exit. It 
appeared as though every breath would be his last ; and his friends 
began to anticipate the immediate performance of the last rites for 
the dying saint. The difficulty of carrying down a narrow staircase 
so large and heavy a corpse as his, when coffined, occurred to one 
of the bystanders, who mentioned the difficulty to another, little 
supposing that " Sammy" would comprehend or even hear his re- 
mark. But the old man did hear, and roused himself to notice it. 
Speaking with apparent ease and with the utmost calmness, he 
said, " Friends, ye 've been takken thowt for my poor body ; I'll tell 
ye what t' do. When I dee, u tak a couple o' sheets, an carry me 
down stairs in 'em by 'tfour corners, and then put me in 't coffin." 
After this he relapsed into a state of apparent insensibility, during 
which his old friend " Billy Dawson" entered the room. In a little 
time he aroused himself, and greeted lus friend with a smile of re- 
cognition. Soon afterward he suddenly exclaimed, " Nurse, nurse, 
get 't sheets ready,"— and expired. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 15? 



lamea <&vtvttt 

u He keeps his honesty and truth, 
His independent tongue and pen." 

The Rev. James Everett, the reputed author of 
" Wesleyan Centenary Takings," a book which will 
be more particularly noticed in the progress of this 
sketch, presents nothing remarkable in personal 
appearance. He is about five feet nine or ten 
inches in height ; neither spare nor robust in frame ; 
light complexioned, with a mild expression in the 
eye ; has a pleasant, mellow, voice and is constitu- 
tionally active. He is probably about fifty-five 
years of age ; is a native of the north of England — 
of Alnwick, in Northumberland — and was sent out 
into the itinerancy by Rev. William Bramwell. In 
his early ministry his sermons were remarkable for 
their profusion of rich, poetic imagery, and he was 
full of burning zeal. He still holds good rank as 
a preacher, and is often employed to preach " oc- 
casional sermons," or sermons in behalf of mis- 
sions, Sunday schools, and other benevolent church 
institutions. He displays to this day a highly poetic 
and vivid imagination, a gift which, in the hands 
of a skillful public speaker, is an important element 
of usefulness and popularity. This was well un- 
derstood by the great and venerated Robert Hall, 
who was accustomed to attribute much of his suc- 
cess as a preacher to the possession of this faculty. 



158 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

The subject of this sketch, there is reason to be- 
lieve, well knows its value and its legitimate use, 
and in his younger days wielded it with skill and 
effect. With increase of years has naturally come 
a diminution of this power, and with that some de- 
crease of popularity, especially as Mr. Everett, on 
account of an affection of the throat, was compelled 
for a season to retire from the itinerancy, or be- 
come a " supernumerary,"* and engage in secular 
business, the cares of which have a very sedative 
effect upon a poetic fancy. This' supernumerary 
episode probably had its influence upon the public 
mind ; it withdrew him for a season from general 
observation, and to a great extent from intercourse 
with the churches. 

Without intending any reference to this individual 
instance, it may be remarked that temporary " loca- 
tion," as we term it, is fraught with serious disad- 
vantages to a minister of the gospel, of which the 
suspension of enlarged intercourse with the saints 
of God is not the most serious, for religion may be 
enjoyed in all its purity and fervor in his more se- 
cluded and secular walk. But when a man's more 
vigorous life has been spent aloof from the world 

* One of the older preachers, visiting a circuit place for the first 
time after he became superannuated, informed his hostess that he 
was now become a supernumerary, and should remain, as a resident, 
in the circuit town, probably for the remainder of his life ; adding, 
what he perhaps thought would be agreeable intelligence, that " he 
should often come out to preach there, though he was a supernu- 
merary." " Supernumerary !" echoed the old lady, " supernumerary ! 
why I always thought that meant one more than was wanted." How 
the old man brooked the hint, tradition saith not. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 159 

and apart from its cares and maxims — when for 
years he has been schooling himself lightly to 
esteem the things of this life and has had his con- 
versation in heaven — he is but ill prepared to come 
down from the mount to struggle and fight his way 
into commerce and secular subsistence. Upon such 
a one temporal anxieties will press with tenfold 
more weight than upon him who has been early 
inducted into the secrets of trade, and has had un- 
interrupted experience in the fashions and customs 
of commercial men ; the danger is imminent that 
his new employment and responsibilities will awaken 
in his breast another spirit than that holy tender- 
ness and spirituality of soul which constitute the 
glory of the minister of Jesus Christ, and are the 
" sweet savor " of his ministry. Few men, in such 
change of circumstances, can preserve that atmos- 
phere of the closet and of heaven — that intangible 
and undefinable, but real and self-evident, presence 
of the Holy Ghost — that habitual and hallowed 
communion with God, without which the ministry 
of the word of life is but the fearful responsibility 
of office. They find it easier to become " wise as 
serpents " than to continue " harmless as doves ;" 
and the religion which once made them " violent 
in fight/' sickens and droops until it can scarcely 
govern the unruly citadel of " Mansoul." Yet the 
church seldom makes allowance for this change. 
While ceasing to care for the supernumerary's 
temporalities, it exacts from him the full tale of 
spirituality and zeal in the cause of Christ and on 



160 SKETCHES OFWESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

their behalf; and forgetting that he, who once 
served at the altar and taught them the deep 
things of God, is, in this privation of his greatest 
joy, more than ever entitled to their sympathies, 
they are but too ready with their censure if he 
seem to be less perfect in faith and love than 
when the work of the ministry was his only care. 

But to return to Mr. Everett. I first saw and 
heard him, some sixteen years since, at Sheffield, 
Yorkshire. His text was Psalm lxxxiv, 11 : " The 
Lord God is a sun and a shield ; he will give grace 
and glory ; and no good thing will he withhold from 
them that walk uprightly." The plan of the ser- 
mon was simple, natural, and rather common- 
place. There were no indications of genius in the 
outline, and any one hearing Mr. Everett for the 
first time, drawn thither by the preacher's reputa- 
tion, would be likely to feel some disappointment. 
As Mr. Everett unfolded his subject, however, the 
hearer began to feel an interest which the intro- 
ductory remarks did not excite, and it soon became 
apparent that the preacher had resources, both of 
matter and manner, that were yet to be called into 
play. Sentence after sentence would arrest the 
attention by its remarkable appositeness — flashes 
of light, betokening the surcharged cloud and the 
coming shower — and soon a torrent of eloquence 
dropped fatness upon every soul. For the filling 
up of his discourse — the effective, telling part of 
his sermon — the preacher seemed to rely upon his 
own experience, his familiarity with evangelical 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 161 

truth, and the glow of feeling which the subject 
excited in himself, aided by a warm imagination, 
great fluency of speech, and consummate skill in 
pictorial representation. When he was warmed by 
his subject, the congregation was carried away by 
his eloquence ; when this inspiration was lacking, 
he was in danger of being trite if not tedious. In 
some of the scenic passages he rose into sublimity, 
giving proof of refined genius and awakening most 
hallowed emotions. 

At times Mr. Everett descends to remarks which 
make his hearers marvel that such contrariety of 
thought and speech can proceed from the same 
person ; and he sometimes commits the common 
error of mistaking bluntness for fidelity. To an 
uncharitable hearer, he would, at such times, ap- 
pear to take pleasure in browbeating and defying 
his audience. Not many years ago, he was sta- 
tioned in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne circuit, where 
the congregations have the reputation of great in- 
telligence and a critical spirit. It had long been 
taken for granted, that the conference, in view of 
this state of things, and having due regard to the 
interests of Methodism, was under obligation to 
send only superior men to that circuit, for " the 
Newcastle people required intellectual preaching, 
and would listen to no other." I think it was Mr. 
E.'s first appointment after his temporary location. 
Whether any protest against the appointment had 
been made to the conference, which is scarcely pro- 
bable, or whether, which is much more likely, 

11 



162 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

some of the self-elected critics had volunteered 
unpalatable counsel, is immaterial. Mr. Everett's 
attention was called to the prevailing sentiment ; 
and having satisfied himself that there was more 
of pretension than reality in their claim to intel- 
lectual superiority ; that those who assumed to be 
extensive readers, sustained that reputation rather 
by consulting periodicals and reviews, than by 
studious and patient research ; he resolved to re- 
buke their "vain philosophy," and bring down 
their lofty imagination. Selecting a week-night 
service as most suitable for the purpose, the con- 
gregation being then composed mainly, if not 
exclusively, of members of society, and leaning 
over the front of the pulpit as he came to the pith 
and marrow of his discourse, he rated the people 
on their sins of the spirit, and especially on the sin 
of listening with itching ears, until he had pretty 
well stripped them of their vain-glorying, and had 
wrought a conviction in their minds that James 
Everett was not the preacher to feed them with the 
" philosophy of men," or to fear the criticism of 
any to whom he might be sent to declare the whole 
counsel of God. Other ministers — every Wesleyan 
preacher — would have been equally faithful, though 
they might not equally have breathed defiance. 
But this is Mr. Everett's greatest fault. He loves 
to have the hornets about his ears — often raises a 
storm by his pungent satire, and certainly never 
quails before it. Some persons think that he is 
over solicitous to have credit for independence, and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 163 

in his resolve to earn that reputation, is not suffi- 
ciently considerate for the feelings, or careful of the 
convenience, of others. 

The subject of our sketch is, and always was, a 
great favorite with the people. He is no respecter 
of persons for their wealth or station's sake. If 
sent as a missionary to the East Indies, he would 
soon introduce trouble into the camp by his deter- 
mined opposition to caste ; for in his war upon it 
he would listen to no compromise. He has a manly 
heart, and loves a manly nature wherever he finds 
it. Nor should it be supposed, from what has been 
already said, that he is lacking in good nature. 
The reverse is the truth, and his ire is only kindled 
when he conceives that tinsel is passing for solid 
gold, and pretension reaping honor not its due ; or 
when he thinks that the right of private judgment, 
or civil liberty, is infringed. Then he arms himself 
for the battle, and no one can be more fearless as 
to results. 

Mr. Everett is a great lover of the antique, and 
has a passion for old relics ; will travel a great 
distance, and expend much labor to secure the 
smallest trifle decidedly ante-diluvian, and will pro- 
bably, like others who ride hobbies, in his eager- 
ness to possess the coveted treasure, fail to discern 
that it bears indubitable evidence of being con- 
siderably post-diluvian in its origin. It is said 
that his warm personal friend, Dr. Adam Clarke, 
was wont to twit him unmercifully upon this foible ; 
and in one of his letters requested Mr. E. to send 



164 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

him, should he meet with it in hunting through 
the "curiosity-shops," " the horn-book out of which 
Eve taught Cain his letters." Were not the re- 
verend gentleman's Protestantism beyond sus- 
picion, there might be ground to fear that, for a 
sight of their relics, he would go over to the Roman 
Catholics. 

It is, however, as a biographer that Mr. Everett 
is most widely known. In this character he is 
popular through the length and breadth of his 
native land, and his name is familiar to the majority 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United 
States. It may be noticed that he has confined 
his biographical labors to a certain class of subjects. 
His mind is eminently fitted to comprehend, and 
lucidly exhibit, the prominences of a character. 
In traveling through this country, his eye would 
detect little beauty in our gently undulating prai- 
ries, vast and magnificent though they are, and 
novel though the sight would be to him ; but his 
whole countenance would glow with admiration 
and delight were he to gaze upon the romantic 
scenery of the Hudson, or the Catskill Mountains, 
or the Falls at Paterson, or the Notch in New- 
Hampshire, or the Water Gap in Delaware, or the 
Natural Bridge in Virginia. So in illustrating an 
argument, or exhibiting a doctrinal truth, or de- 
lineating a character, the finer shades of difference, 
the features in repose, would to a great extent be 
overlooked, and those strongly marked alone be 
dwelt upon. Upon these he likes to work, and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 165 

under his plastic touch they assume a positive 
identity, and glow with the warmth of real life. 
Hence he has selected such subjects for his bio- 
graphical sketches, and the portraits are at once 
recognized by all who are familiar with the ori- 
ginals. His Wall's-end Miner, Village Blacksmith, 
and Memoir of William Dawson, have been exceed- 
ingly popular, and will continue to afford both 
pleasure and profit to pious Methodists of both 
hemispheres for many successive generations. The 
Village Blacksmith is a biography of " Sammy 
Hick," the subject of one of these sketches. In 
the eight years succeeding its first publication it 
passed through as many editions, and its republi- 
cation in this country, by the Methodist Book 
Room, has added thousands to its circulation. It 
is the best of his biographies, because most faithful 
to the original. The WalVs-end Miner has been 
much read, and has still a constant and steady 
sale ; but the subject of it was not so universally 
known as good old Sammy. It is an excellent 
book, well calculated to promote personal piety. 

In the Memoir of Mr. Dawson a fault is very 
apparent, which in former works from the same 
pen was occasionally to be seen. There was no 
need of Mr. Everett's name upon the title-page; 
for every page beyond bears his image and super- 
scription, in the numerous quotations from classic 
authors, the "fathers," and the ancient philoso- 
phers. It is true that, inasmuch as the subject 
now sitting was of superior mold to those whose 



166 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

lineaments the artist had before presented to the 
public, he was at liberty to display more skill in 
the picture, and to treat his patrons to a more 
elaborate composition. But the misfortune is, 
that the painter, in his excessive desire to produce 
a perfect work, has to some extent sacrificed the 
truthfulness of nature, and has so crowded the 
canvass with touches illustrating his peculiar style 
of painting, that the eye cannot long rest compo- 
sedly upon the portrait. 

There is another work, already mentioned, which 
has given Mr. Everett notoriety. When he became 
a supernumerary, he took up his residence in Man- 
chester, where for several years he kept a station- 
ery and bookstore. His business was profitable ; 
for of course all the preachers stationed in the 
Manchester circuits, and they numbered fourteen 
or fifteen, patronized him, and exerted their influ- 
ence in his behalf. The establishment being in a 
central situation, was a sort of rendezvous, lounge, 
or newsroom, for his brethren ; and on the fore- 
noons of Saturday and Monday especially, any 
person wanting to see one of the reverend gentle- 
men, could easily meet him by calling in at No. — 
Market-street. Here many a clerical caucus was 
held, many an ecclesiastical movement originated, 
many a Methodistical reform discussed, (for Mr. 
Everett has always been of the so-called liberal 
school,) and the religious news of the day talked 
over. As his brethren in the ministry occasionally 
had sermons or pamphlets to print, and as a fair 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 167 

amount of "job work" in connection with the 
various anniversaries of the body was offered to 
Mr. E., he made an arrangement with a printer, 
who had an office over his store, and who was 
also a Wesleyan Methodist, which was mutually 
advantageous ; and all the typographical work 
executed under this agreement bore the imprint of 
"Thompson & Everett, printers, Manchester." 
And hereby hangs a tale. 

In the year 1832 were published at this estab- 
lishment, and sold almost exclusively across Mr. 
Everett's counter, numbers one and two of a neat 
duodecimo publication, the title of which was 
" Wesleyan Takings," and the motto, " Whose is 
this image ? And they said *****'». And they 
marveled." The first number of this publication 
was a minute, elaborate, and fearless, pen portrait 
of the Rev. Jabez Bunting, extending over some 
forty pages. Seven asterisks were substituted for 
the name, and the artist was anonymous. The 
Methodist public, however, readily recognized both 
the painter and his subject. The work bore such 
strong internal evidence of being Mr. Everett's, 
that no one for a moment entertained a doubt upon 
the subject ; and it was generally understood that 
he only declined to acknowledge its paternity be- 
cause, from the very nature of the self-imposed 
task, and for obvious reasons of delicacy, the work 
could best be prosecuted anonymously. The por- 
trait, though slightly deepened in the shading by 
the painter's "liberal" bias, was strikingly faithful. 



168 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

Mr. Bunting had long been a thorn in the flesh to 
the avowed enemies of Methodism, nor less so to 
those, its professed friends, who were seeking 
radical changes in its constitution. Even the firm- 
est adherents of Methodism who did not know him 
intimately, feared him while they loved and vene- 
rated him for his fidelity to the interests of Method- 
ism, and his undaunted courage and indomitable 
perseverance in defending and maintaining those 
interests. When the first number of the "Tak- 
ings " was issued, there was much latent radicalism 
in the Manchester societies ; and it was thought by 
some that Mr. Everett secretly approved of the 
disaffection. This sketch of Mr. (now Dr.) Bunting 
took the whole town by surprise ; for while it 
gave evidence in many of its passages that the 
writer differed in some of his views from the great 
ruler of the Methodistic Israel, and while he ex- 
pressed his own sentiments and his estimate of 
Mr. Bunting and his position with the most perfect 
freedom and fearlessness, he was yet thoroughly 
loyal to the constitution of Methodism, and both 
loved and admired the man of whom he wrote. 

Number three of that series never was published ; 
but at the time of the " Centenary Conference " an 
elegantly printed volume made its appearance, 
bearing this title : " Wesleyan Takings ; or Cen- 
tenary Sketches of Ministerial Character, as exhi- 
bited in the Wesleyan Connection during the first 
Hundred Years of its Existence. [Here followed 
the motto already quoted.] London : Hamilton, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 169 

Adams, & Co." Copies of this work were re- 
ceived in advance by Mr. Everett's successor in 
business, (his nephew,) Mr. E. having, in the mean 
time, resumed his itinerant labors. Through his 
nephew, also, a liberal supply was furnished to the 
trade in Manchester, and, in frequent conversations 
with the writer, that gentleman virtually acknow- 
ledged that the work was Mr. Everett's. More- 
over the two sketches published in 1832 were in- 
corporated in this volume. The work gave offense 
generally to the preachers, or rather was disapproved 
by them. Great anxiety was felt by the "heads 
of houses " to ascertain the authorship with cer- 
tainty ; but the ordinary guide of a printer's name 
was lacking. No one doubted its paternity — no 
intelligent person could doubt that the Rev. James 
Everett was the author of the "Wesleyan Cen- 
tenary Takings ;" but the legal proof, so to speak, 
was wanting, and fruitless were all efforts to obtain 
it. The book, in every feature, was a novelty in 
Methodism ; and, if written by one of the preachers, 
involved a principle which none of the brother- 
hood had been bold enough to avow, and which it 
was not supposed that any entertained — the right 
of one member publicly to sit in judgment upon 
the ministerial talents of his brethren. The Wes- 
leyan Methodist Magazine denounced the book in 
very strong terms ; yet, and perhaps all the more 
rapidly, it passed to a second and third edition; 
and with the third was published a preface reflect- 
ing with severity upon the general management 



170 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

of the Magazine. This preface, on account of the 
intimate acquaintance displayed with the concerns 
of the Methodist Book Room and the doings of the 
Committee of Management, increased the general 
belief that the author of the volume was a member 
of the Conference, while the attack upon one of 
the organs of the body seemed to require that 
official notice should be taken of the matter. 

In the British Conference all business is trans- 
acted with closed doors, but as some four hundred 
preachers are billeted among the members and 
friends of the Wesleyan Church, the doings of the 
body on subjects of general interest mostly leak 
out, nor indeed is any strict secrecy in such matters 
enjoined. The subject was brought up by Dr. 
Bunting. The principal topic of animadversion was 
the third preface, but it was further objected to the 
book that an irreverent use was made of passages 
of Scripture, they being sometimes employed to 
give point to a witticism. This is apparently true, 
and is perhaps the only tangible objection which a 
disinterested person would make. With the Con- 
ference the case was different, and the wonder is 
that they did not take issue upon the principle, and 
raise the question whether a member of an associ- 
ation like that of the Wesleyan Conference — a so- 
ciety into which each member voluntarily enters 
and thus virtually pledges himself to abide by the 
usages, as well as obey the rules, of the brother- 
hood — where all are impliedly equal, recognizing 
each other as called of God to the ministry and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. l7l 

endowed by the Holy Ghost with the necessary 
gifts for the successful ministration of the word of 
life ; whether a member of such an association can 
elect himself into the censor's chair and pronounce 
ex cathedra upon the qualifications and attainments 
of his brethren without violating an implied com- 
pact, or without opening the door to far more seri- 
ous departures from the implied agreement. We 
did not understand, however, that this ground was 
distinctly taken by any, but it was alledged that, 
assuming the book to be the production of a Wes- 
leyan Methodist preacher, its publication was highly 
discourteous to his brethren and was fraught with 
evil, the tendency of such publications being to 
lower the standard of ministerial authority and 
pastoral influence. 

The difficulty of clearly identifying Mr. Everett 
as the author had given rise to rumors that either 
others were associated with him, or that it was al- 
together the work of other hands. Common re- 
port pointed to the following ministers, and the 
" third preface " had given their names as the sub- 
jects of such rumor : — James Everett, John Burd- 
sall, (Mr. Everett's colleague in the York circuit,) 
William M. Bunting, Francis A. West, Samuel 
Waddy, and Dr. Beaumont. The last four were 
present at the Conference, and were requested to 
exonerate themselves. They did so ; Dr. Beau- 
mont, however, denying in strong terms the right 
of the Conference to make any such requisition 
upon him, denouncing the proceeding as inquisi- 



172 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

tonal, &c, and protesting that his disavowal was 
made of his own free-will, and not because the 
Conference asked it. It is said, that while speak- 
ing of the book, warm friend as he is known to be 
of the reputed author, he yielded to the gush of 
his own noble feelings, and declared, that had he 
written it he should ever after be ashamed to look 
his brethren in the face. Messrs. Bunting, West, 
and Waddy, expressed similar sentiments. Messrs, 
Burdsall and Everett not being present, an official 
communication was addressed to them of like im- 
port with the inquiry made in Conference, and a 
categorical answer was requested. Mr. Burdsall 
promptly disavowed any participation in the matter, 
and Mr. Everett simply replied, that he " denied 
the right of any man, or any set of men, to exer- 
cise such an interference in his private affairs." 
When the letter was read, it seemed to be the 
unanimous opinion that no further inquiries need 
be made, and the matter was allowed to drop. 

The volume comprises nearly four hundred pages. 
Three hundred of these are occupied with twelve 
full-length portraits of the living and the dead, 
asterisks being substituted for the names of the 
living subjects ; the remaining pages are occupied 
with " outlines ready for filling up ;" together they 
number one hundred. With these " outlines " the 
name is given in every instance. In some of the 
" Takings," it is conceived, the reader will see 
nothing objectionable, conceding that the criticism 
is just, and losing sight of the other points to which 



SKETCHES OF WESLETAN PREACHERS. 173 

allusion has been made. Others, however, are 
finished off by the accommodation of Scripture 
passages — are framed, so to speak, in texts of 
holy writ — in a manner not consistent with that 
holy awe and deep reverence with which the pious 
Christian is wont to regard even the faintest indi- 
cations of the divine will, and still more the de- 
clared testimony of God — the word by which 
man's darkness is to be enlightened, his conscience 
awakened, his nature renovated, his life regulated, 
and his actions weighed in the final judgment. 

An amusing instance of baffled curiosity, on the 
part of one of Mr. Everett's colleagues at York, 
may be mentioned in connection with this matter. 
The gentleman's wife had purchased some article 
of domestic use, which was sent home folded in a 
sheet of paper, bearing the first impression (the 
mere imprint of the types without ink) of several 
pages of the " Wes]eyan Takings." This caught 
the eye of the reverend gentleman, and seeing its 
importance, he eagerly asked his lady how she be- 
came possessed of it. Receiving her explanation, 
he hied to the shopkeeper, who in his turn explain- 
ed that he had bought it as waste paper from a 
certain printer in the city. Elated with his suc- 
cess so far, he hastened to the printer's office. To 
his ardent hope the secret was already discovered 
— the mystery unveiled — the tangled web unravel- 
ed. After sundry remarks, designed to disguise 
the real object of his visit, he ventured to ask, " By 
the way, Mr. , have you any more of that 



174 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

waste paper you sold to Mr. ? Is it from 

your own office ?" The latter part of the question 
awakened the printer's suspicion — the truth flashed 
upon his mind — and, looking his clerical friend full 

in the face, he replied, " Mr. , you attend to 

your business, and I will attend to mine." In the 
place of the expected light came obscurity. A 
second volume of the work was promised, but I 
have not heard that it has yet made its appear- 
ance. 

In addition to his biographical and other publi- 
cations more immediately connected with Method- 
ism, Mr. Everett has published a small volume of 
poetry. The principal poem is in the ballad form, 
and is founded upon a legend of the Anglo-Saxon 
era. There are some good sonnets in the volume. 

Mr. Everett is again upon the list of supernu- 
merary preachers, and resides in the city of York. 
The affection in his throat returned soon after he 
recommenced his itinerant labors, and he is com- 
pelled to desist from preaching, except at long in- 
tervals. It is scarcely probable that he will ever 
re-enter the itinerant ranks. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. lY5 



lame0 tDcoir. 

" Age sits with decent grace upon his visage, 
And worthily becomes his silken locks ; 
He wears the marks of many years well spent 
Of virtue, truth well-tried, and wise experience." — Rowe. 

The subjects of this and the following sketch are 
father and son, — co-laborers in the vineyard of 
the Lord, and co-heirs of the promise, " They that 
are wise shall shine as the firmament, and they 
that turn, many to righteousness as the stars for 
ever and ever." The father has ceased his la- 
bors, God having said unto him, " Go thou thy 
way till the end be, for thou shalt rest and shalt 
stand in thy lot at the end of the days :" the son 
yet awaits the summons, " Come up hither." The 
sire went down to his rest as a ripe shock ready 
for the garner, having been a Methodist preacher 
sixty-seven years, of which fifty-three were spent 
in efficient itinerancy ; and at the consummation 
of all things — when Christ shall be crowned Lord 
of all, and the royal diadem upon his peerless 
brow shall be studded with the gems of his re- 
deeming triumphs — " stars in radiance set " — not 
the least effulgent in that galaxy will be the vener- 
able saint and minister whose name stands at the 
head of this sketch, whom Dr. Clarke appropri- 
ately and feelingly styled "an apostle of God." 
He labored long, assiduously, and successfully, in 
the work whereunto he was called, and for nearly 



1*76 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

a century (he died in his eighty-ninth year) not 
only maintained an irreproachable character, but 
justly enjoyed a wide-spread reputation for what- 
soever things were pure, and lovely, and of good 
report. 

In a lady's album to which the writer has daily 
access are the following counsel and autograph, 
written in a fair, uniform, and legible hand : — 

" In the favor of God is life. If this be secured and re- 
tained, the grace of God will keep your heart and mind in 
Christ Jesus ; it will flow with the strength and copious- 
ness of a river, and will lead you to the ocean of blessed- 
ness. 

"James Wood. 

" August 31st, 1833." 

The date is within a day of the time of my first 
introduction to this venerable man. He was then 
upward of eighty years of age, and was, by pri- 
ority of years, the " father of the Methodist Con- 
nection." The occasion of that introduction was 
not to be readily forgotten. The writer had been 
honored with, and had accepted, an invitation to 
preside at the anniversary meeting of the Wood- 
house- Grove Juvenile Wesleyan Missionary Soci- 
ety. After hurriedly glancing round the hall, 
and perceiving, much to my disquiet, that several 
influential ministers and laymen were in a false po- 
sition, to wit, that they were to be hearers of the 
" opening speech," when any one of them ought 
to have made it, I was preparing to announce the 
hymn, prior to singing and prayer, when I was 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 177 

startled by the youths, and nearly all the congrega- 
tion, simultaneously rising to their feet. Raising 
my head I at once comprehended and was pleased 
with the movement. Supported by the Rev. 
Jonathan Crowther on one side, and the Rev. Ste- 
phen Kay on the other, I saw a venerable man, 
of benevolent aspect and apostolic mien, slowly 
enter the hall and take a seat reserved for him next 
to the Rev. George Morley, then governor of the 
institution. It was the Rev. James Wood, whose 
appearance made an impression upon my mind, all 
the more permanent probably from the attendant 
circumstances, which is likely to remain so long as 
memory holds her seat. He was rather above the 
average stature of an Englishman, somewhat cor- 
pulent ; stooped a little, but not so much as to 
convey an idea of decrepitude ; the countenance 
was mild and benignant, and yet dignified, and, so 
to speak, contemplative, as though the man was 
accustomed to look inwardly, and had found know- 
ledge less in books than in his own breast ; the 
forehead was simple, and, with the crown, entirely 
without covering, while from temple to temple the 
back of the head was skirted with scanty locks of 
soft silken hair, white as snow. The tout- ensemble 
gave the idea of one who had pursued a steady, 
uniform, unobtrusive course of duty, alike without 
intemperate zeal or selfish indulgence, and who 
looked on the retrospect without remorse, and with 
a solid satisfaction as far removed from vanity as 

from doubt and fear, — of one vrhofelt that he had 

12 



178 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

fulfilled his mission, and who now calmly waited 
the command to render up his account. I had the 
pleasure of sitting at the supper table with him 
that evening, and the first impressions were abun- 
dantly confirmed. His whole demeanor seemed 
constantly to say, " I am now ready to be offered 
up ;" nor could any one look upon him, and listen 
to his brief, affectionate counsels, his joyous words 
of praise and prayer, all feebly uttered, without in- 
vesting him in his mind's e}^e with the mental and 
personal attributes, as he unquestionably partook 
of the spirit, of him who was banished to the Isle 
of Patmos for the love he bore to his Master and 
his children in the Lord. 

I have a faint impression that I heard of this 
aged servant of God preaching, subsequent to this 
time, at Bristol, where he resided, but probably 
am mistaken. At the Conference of 1835, when it 
was resolved to establish a Wesleyan Theological 
Institution for the better education of candidates 
for the ministry, he bore testimony before his bre- 
thren against the attempts made, by a disaffected 
preacher and his abettors, to overthrow the consti- 
tutional guards by which the economy of Wesleyan 
Methodism had been so long protected, and ex- 
pressed the unabated confidence which, after long 
years of intercouse and observation, he still felt in 
those brethren who had been most bitterly assailed 
and misrepresented. This testimony was the more 
welcome as the seceding party had taken great 
pains to have it understood that Mr. James Wood, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 179 

and two other very aged ministers, approved both 
of their proceedings and their views. Mr. Wood, 
I believe, though of even this I am far from being 
certain, at first expressed an opinion against the 
expediency of establishing the theological institu- 
tion, but when the majority decided in its favor he 
cheerfully acquiesced, and deeply sorrowed over 
the ulterior proceedings of the disaffected. 

The most affecting circumstance attending the 
last days of the subject of this sketch was his fare- 
well of the Conference in the year 1839 — the year 
on which that body met in Bristol. He was then in 
his eighty-eighth year, and very infirm, but feeling 
that, of necessity, after that Conference he could 
never again see in the flesh those with whom he 
had so long labored, and suffered, and rejoiced, 
his heart yearned to take a final adieu of them and 
leave them his blessing. He was conveyed in a 
carriage to the chapel, and was supported to the 
platform by his son (who had then been twenty- 
eight years a co-worker with him in the ministry) 
and other preachers : slowly and with great diffi- 
culty — Mr. Robert Wood more audibly repeating 
his words — he exhorted the preachers to abide by 
the ancient land-marks ; and, expressing his con- 
viction that these would be his last words among 
the ministers with whom his association on earth 
must henceforth cease, he gave them his dying 
blessing, took a final farewell of them until their 
intercourse should be renewed in heaven, and, ex- 
hausted with the effort, was borne to his carriage 



180 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

and conveyed to his home, from which, though he 
lived until the following June, he only once again 
made his exit, and that was at his removal to the 
"house appointed for all living." The affecting 
scene in Conference, it was told me, baffled descrip- 
tion. All rose to receive his words — old men felt 
that the grave and the judgment were brought 
nearer to them, and many wept aloud as they 
looked for the last time upon their friend and coun- 
selor ; while young men forgot the mere buoyancy 
and hope of youth in the contemplation of the re- 
sponsibilities and rewards of the future. 

The reader is already aware that the writer 
never heard Mr, Wood preach. From report, I 
judge that the following extract from Mr. Everett's 
" Centenary Takings " is just and faithful : — 
" Great stability and seriousness ; soft — pathetic ; 
dropped his voice at the close of a sentence ; 
weighty, not animated. Preached as if standing 
at the mouth of the grave, or at the bar of God. 
Quiet, modest, sweetly insinuating, and unobtru- 
sively useful. A man who appeared to have at- 
tained the object so much to be desired — ' in the 
first part of life to enjoy its sweets without its 
cares ; — in the middle, to please ourselves as much 
by taking care of others ; — and in decrepit, feeble 
age, to be assisted in our turn by others whom we 
have educated.' In doctrine showing uncorrupt- 
ness, gravity, sincerity" 



SKETCHES OP WESLETAN PREACHERS. 181 



Hobort itloob. 



M In judgment sound, in counsel wise, in temper dispassionate, 
in action cautious and prudent : firm in his purpose, steadfast in 
his friendships, and true to his principles : wanting not so much 
light as heat. — ' One that ruleth well. 



j » 



The Rev. Robert Wood entered the itinerancy in 
1811. It is said, with how much truth I know 
not, that his early ministry gave a promise that 
riper years have not fulfilled. Perhaps there might 
be in his younger days more than he now exhibits 
of impetuosity, physical energy, outward evidence 
of zeal, fire, or by whatsoever name that something 
may be called by which many "young preachers'' 
achieve a transient popularity — and perhaps more 
imagination, if that ingredient ever entered into his 
composition. Powerful element of popularity as 
imagination is, Mr. Robert Wood's early " promise " 
must have rested upon other grounds, as does his 
present acceptability. He has always had good 
circuits, generally by invitation of the people, but 
his acceptability is owing rather to a combination 
of good and serviceable qualities, than to his pulpit 
talents alone. He is, for instance, an admirable 
superintendent. It may be questioned whether in 
this respect there is his superior in the whole con- 
nection. He is a strict disciplinarian, without being 
tyrannical or harsh, unmindful of the feelings, or 
disrespectful to the opinions, of others. Voluntary 
humility and arrogance are alike his aversion ; he 



182 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

neither deals in sickly deprecation of the views and 
sentiments of others, nor exhibits a headstrong 
adherence to his own. He is, in fact, eminently 
judicious in the government of a circuit ; somewhat 
close, constitutionally or by choice, cautious, and 
far-seeing, and is careful never to attempt more 
than he can accomplish. From the reserve which 
he habitually maintains, some have supposed him 
to be cold and unsympathizing, but the contrary 
is the fact. Instances might be recorded, wherein 
he has shown great tenderness and feeling to those 
in whose worth and integrity he has had confidence, 
and there is much genuine kindness in his dispo- 
sition. Moreover, he is punctual to a proverb — 
an important quality for every man, especially for 
a Methodist preacher, and for the formation of a 
good superintendent absolutely essential. 

He is one who applies the apostle's rule in the 
full extent of its phraseology, " Let everything be 
done decently and in order." An amusing and 
characteristic illustration of this I will narrate. In 
the circuits comprised within the manufacturing 
districts of England, the villages, or, technically, 
"circuit places," are not very distant from each 
other, although the most remote are perhaps eight 
or ten miles from the circuit town. In making the 
plan, the superintendent is generally careful to 
arrange the quarterly love-feasts, held almost with- 
out exception on Sunday afternoon, so that they 
shall not clash with each other ; for they are means 
to which the English Methodists are much attach- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 183 

ed, especially in the country, and the societies 
within a mile or two of each other often inter- 
change visits with pleasure and profit on "love- 
feast day." Some of the large manufacturing 
towns are divided into three or four circuits, and 
in the towns there are generally some members 
who carry their partiality for these means to a re- 
prehensible excess, running away from their own 
chapels nearly every Sunday to attend love-feasts 
in the different circuits. They are, in fact, love- 
feast orators. When Mr. Wood was stationed on 
a Manchester circuit he appointed all the love- 
feasts on the same day. This of course attracted 
the notice of the local preachers, upon whom the 
conduct of these means of grace in the country 
devolves to a considerable extent, and at their next 
quarterly meeting the seeming error was pointed 
out to Mr. Wood. " no, brethren," said he, " I 
made no mistake in the matter. The departure 
from the general custom was intentional, and this 
is my reason for it. Some time ago a member 
at a love-feast, over which I presided, rose, and 
* blessed God that he had been at thirteen love- 
feasts that quarter.' I reproved him before the 
people, and inwardly resolved that no man should 
' do likewise ' in any circuit over which I was su- 
perintendent." Of course, the reason was deemed 
satisfactory, and Mr. Wood, I believe, has continued 
to act upon his resolution. 

It is difficult rightly to define Mr. Robert Wood's 
exact standing as a preacher. I can but give my 



184 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

own estimate of him, after frequently hearing him 
in the regular rotation of his ministry in one circuit, 
and occasionally in other places. To say that he 
is perfectly sound in his theological views, accord- 
ing to the authorized standing of the British Con- 
ference — Mr. Wesley's Works — would be to say 
that which may be predicated of every English 
Methodist preacher, for perfect agreement in this 
respect is required before a man can be received 
as a local preacher ; before he enters the itinerancy 
his conformity to the standard is again inquired 
into, and a renewed pledge is taken ; ever after, 
his fidelity to the doctrines held by the body is 
vigilantly overseen ; and for any departure there- 
from he will be speedily visited with the penalties 
of discipline. But, of course, men differ somewhat 
— as one star differeth from another in glory — in 
the clearness and precision with which they state 
these doctrines. This difference does not neces- 
sarily bear any proportion either to their clearness 
of perception or the implicitness of their faith in 
the truths they utter ; though it is an indication 
of their relative fitness for the ministry, inasmuch 
as " aptness to teach " is an important element in 
a man's acceptability with those whom he is called 
to instruct. Mr. Wood possesses this element in a 
high degree. All his teachings from the pulpit 
are clear and lucid. He leaves no doubt upon the 
mind of his hearers as to what he means, and what 
he would have them believe. Theological anatomy 
has no difficulties for him. He is as familiar with 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 185 

the whole scheme of gospel economy as the skillful 
surgeon is with the construction of the human 
frame, and can dissect and exhibit the various 
ramifications of doctrine and precept with as much 
facility as the most experienced operator can dis- 
sect his corporeal " subject." 

Again, Mr. Wood is a good sermonizer, meaning 
by that, that he is an adept in the mechanical con- 
struction of sermons. He forms his " skeleton," 
or outline, with much neatness and ingenuity. He 
has a place for everything, and often extends his 
sermons to an inconvenient length in order to get 
everything into its place. This minuteness some- 
times creates weariness on the part of his hearers. 
He is "great," too, at arithmetical calculations, 
and can compute almost ad infinitum. I doubt 
whether the " wonderful boy," whose achievements 
in this respect have recently formed the theme of 
newspaper story, could beat Mr. Wood in this par- 
ticular line. He would have made an excellent 
financier, and had his lot been cast in the counting- 
house of Messrs. Rothschild, or other large mer- 
chants or bankers, where interest, simple and 
compound, had to be calculated, he might have 
acquired a princely fortune by his sendees. Com- 
putation is manifestly his delight. He has a ser- 
mon on Psalm lxxii, 16 : " There shall be a handful 
of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains ; 
the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon" <fcc. 
Considered in connection with the context, the 
passage is intended to point out the triumphs and 



186 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. In this 
sense Mr. Wood treats it in the sermon referred 
to. After giving his hearers (and this, it must be 
mentioned, is only one branch of the discourse) 
theories upon the subject of vegetation, and de- 
tailing the process of the germination and subse- 
quent growth of a grain of wheat, he enters upon 
a calculation of this kind : he fixes the time required 
for the production of the mature and ripened ear, 
the time intervening between the seasons for reap- 
ing and sowing, or the length of time in which the 
ear generally remains in the garner, the average 
number of grains produced from one seed, the 
probable number contained in a handful, and the 
quantity of superficial miles embraced in the surface 
of the earth. Having established these data, he 
goes into a calculation, showing how many years 
it would require for a single grain of wheat so to 
be multiplied that the product would cover the 
whole earth. I cannot now distinctly recall the 
exact use he makes of this sum in arithmetical pro- 
gression ; but its design is to show that, according 
to a certain ratio of success, the time is limited for 
the delay of the promise, that " the knowledge of 
the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters 
the great deep," and that the promise must be 
fulfilled. 

This faculty is remarkable, and, in easily sup- 
posable circumstances, invaluable ; but its indul- 
gence in the pulpit is of doubtful utility, and per- 
haps in this instance is a defect. Apart from this, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 187 

Mr. Wood's sermons are always instructive, often 
exhibiting keen, logical acumen, always chaste in 
diction, though never brilliant or overpowering, 
and his inferences are invariably just and natural. 
He is exceedingly happy in seizing upon a mere 
passing incident, especially upon the platform, in 
which respect he is second only to Dr. Newton. 
His great defect is, that he lacks fire. The words 
drop fluently, even mellifluously, from his lips, 
but they are not "words that burn:" thoughts 
are plentiful, but they are not "thoughts that 
breathe." Perhaps this may be partially accounted 
for by the fact that Mr. Wood is strictly a memo- 
riter preacher. I have been struck, as have others, 
with the perfect similarity between a sermon which 
I have accidentally heard him preach at different 
places, at wide intervals. The plan, thoughts, 
phraseology, tone, gesture, and even the time 
occupied in its delivery, were without variation. 
This, of course, comparatively few persons would 
have the opportunity of observing ; and it is pro- 
fitable to sit under his ministry, for in his stock of 
sermons there is great variety, and he never fails 
to give a full exposition of his subject. He always 
stays three years in a circuit, and is even then 
parted with with regret. I never knew a circuit 
deteriorate under his superintendency. Instances 
have occurred wherein societies under his care 
have been rescued from sad depression, both in 
temporal and spiritual things, by his judicious and 
systematic management. He was at one time 



188 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

looked to with some expectation and confidence as 
a future ruler in the Wesleyan Connection. I can 
scarcely say how far that feeling now exists among 
his brethren ; but my impression is, that it is not 
so strong as formerly. All who know him feel the 
most perfect confidence that whatever position he 
may hold, he will, in intention and aim, be faithful 
to the trust reposed in him, and that, like his 
venerated father, he will ever wear pure garments ; 
that he will be found ready, and with his lamp 
trimmed, when the Master shall call him; and 
will finally be presented before the Redeemer 
without spot, or wrinkle, or blemish, or any such 
thing. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEY AN PREACHERS. 189 



Motyn fyanmil. 

"He is so full of pleasing anecdote." 

" Devout, yet cheerful ; pious, not austere ; 
To others lenient, to himself severe." 

This gentleman is probably known but to few on 
this side of the Atlantic. To those few, however, 
a sketch from one who knew and loved him well 
cannot be unwelcome ; while others, being Method- 
ists, will not object to these reminiscences of one 
who, moving in a more circumscribed orbit than 
some who have been introduced to their notice, is 
an acceptable minister of the New Testament, and 
a most worthy man — " the friend of all, the enemy 
of none." The language of kindness is ever on his 
lips and in his heart. His is a ministry of recon- 
ciliation in a lower as well as in a higher sense : 
between man and his fellow, as well as between 
man and his Maker. He is a peacemaker. The 
reader is not, however, to suppose that this is 
Mr. Hanwell's only characteristic ; or that because 
he is of a meek and peace-loving spirit, that there- 
fore he is wanting in shrewdness, vivacity, and in- 
dependence. Far from it. Our subject possesses 
a considerable share of all these, with a keen per- 
ception of character, readily discerning a man's 
weakness or foible, and promptly using that dis- 
cernment to unmask or disconcert a hypocrite, or 
to reconcile those who are unhappily estranged. 



190 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

Moreover, the reverend gentleman is a wit, enjoys 
a pun exceedingly, can utter a sarcasm with effect, 
and possesses an inexhaustible fund of anecdote. 
His equal in this respect is not often to be met 
with ; but goodness of heart is above all apparent. 

Physically, Mr. Hanwell is a little man, not ex- 
ceeding five feet in height ; not exactly corpulent, 
but somewhat rotund in proportion to his longitude. 
It need scarcely be added that his " presence " 
inspires no awe ; but the "man 's a man for a' that," 
and not exactly the person that a stranger would 
take liberties with. There lurks an indefinable 
something in the countenance — a mingling of hu- 
mor and decision — which gives the man a character 
in advance ; warning the beholder that he pos- 
sesses weapons of defense, and has the skill and 
courage to use them when necessary ; and that it 
would be difficult to unhorse him in an intellectual 
tournament. 

The reverend gentleman possesses, in a com- 
mendable degree, the rare quality of knowing 
when to speak, and when to keep silence. He 
keeps his own counsel. He was stationed in Man- 
chester during the existence of the trouble known 
as the " Warrenite disturbance," (and in the same 
circuit with Dr. Warren,) and was so mute upon 
the exciting subject that he was half suspected, 
very unjustly, of sympathizing with, or at least 
conniving at, the radical movement. Nevertheless, 
he persevered in his course, extending his pastoral 
visits to the disaffected as well as to the loyal, and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 191 

knowing nothing among them of the angry passions 
that were tearing other men's bosoms. Among 
those whom he thus visited was a local preacher, 
a man of some talent and influence, and tolerably 
well to do in the world, the principal defect in 
whose character was a love of notoriety, and the 
credit of independence of thought and speech. 
His interests, and probably his private sentiments, 
were all incorporated with Wesleyan Methodism, 
but for the sake of being talked about he was ever 
boasting of his radicalism, while he took care not 
so to commit himself that discipline could be 
exercised upon him. Finding that Mr. Hanwell 
continued his pastoral visits, and that he cautiously 
kept silence upon the prevailing dispute, and sha- 
ring in the common mistake as to his real senti- 
ments, the man grew bolder in his speech, until 
the visitor felt that, in this case at least, forbear- 
ance had ceased to be a virtue, and resolved upon 
a seasonable rebuke. Instead, however, of argu- 
ing the whole matter with him, which the discern- 
ing reader will perceive would have been useless, 
and would only have fed his vanity, our subject 
adopted a course which took the wind out of the 
would-be-radical's sails, and left him with the un- 
comfortable conviction that his character was well 
imderstood. On entering the house, Mr. H. was 
met with the exclamation, evidently intended to 
elicit a commitment from him, "Why, Mr. Han- 
well, I wonder you persist in coming to see such 
a radical as I am. You know I am a thorough 



192 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

Warrenite. What will the other preachers think 
of you ?" Without taking the proffered seat, the 
man of God fixed his eye upon the speaker for a 
few moments, and then replied, " I know you, Mr. 

G , and have known you from the beginning 

of this difficulty. That you wished to be thought 
a 'radical' I have always seen. I did hope that 
your religion would triumph over your vanity, and 
in this hope have continued my pastoral oversight. 
But you have so repeatedly avowed these senti- 
ments that I must either doubt your word, or be- 
lieve in your disaffection. Either alternative is 
painful, but the latter the less so, and I adopt it. 
I assume that all you have said against my brethren 
and Methodism you believe. As I cordially ap- 
prove of both, my visits must be distasteful and 
unprofitable to you, and in sorrow I must bid you 
adieu. I can only pray that God may grant you 
another spirit." With this counsel Mr. Hanwell 
left the house. Thenceforth his views were well 
understood, and his conscientious forbearance from 
mingling in the strife rightly appreciated. The 
local preacher felt the force of the rebuke, and to 
some extent profited by the lesson. 

Mr. Hanwell does not rank high as a preacher 
merely, though he always commands respectable 
appointments. On his first advent to a circuit his 
peculiarities prove highly attractive, but the matter 
of his sermons scarcely sustains him with equal 
eclat to the end of a third year — the full measure 
of a Methodist preacher's " continuance in one 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 193 

stay," which his admirable tact as a superintend- 
ent, his fidelity as a pastor, his amiable qualities as 
a man, and other excellences, usually secure for 
him. He is, to a considerable extent, a mechani- 
cal, and perhaps entirely a memoriter preacher, and 
possibly relies too much upon a stock of sermons. 
This is a conjecture only, based, however, upon 
some years of observation. His discourses are 
neat, exhibiting a knowledge of man's ordinary 
spiritual necessities rather than high intellectual 
powers, sound in their theology, and thoroughly 
experimental in their character. He loves most to 
dwell upon the consolations of the gospel, though 
sometimes he appears with good effect in the cha- 
racter of a Boanerges. He labors under some 
slight physical defect in utterance, which, by dint 
of application, he has overcome, but has been com- 
pelled to adopt a peculiar, measured delivery, 
which, from its necessary uniformity, becomes, in 
time, somewhat monotonous, although at first, from 
its very novelty, it is effective and even agreeable. 
The reverend gentleman is careful to make the 
best use of his powers, and his habitual self-com- 
mand and ready wit greatly aid him in this respect. 
He has some sermons of great power and accept- 
ability. One, on the passage, "And David en- 
couraged himself in the Lord his God," he rarely 
preaches without a request for its repetition. To 
the afflicted believer it is a " feast of fat things, of 
wine on the lees, well refined." Another, on the 
passage, "These light afflictions, which are but for 

13 



194 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHEHS. 

a moment" &c, is indelibly imprinted upon my 
youthful memory. The following figure will pro- 
bably remain familiar to me through life, as also 
the recollection of the preacher rising upon his toes 
and giving to it the fullest volume of his voice : 
" Methinks I see the venerable apostle of the Gen- 
tiles, with the balances of the sanctuary before 
him. Into one scale he puts ' afflictions/ and into 
the other l glory.' Returning to the first he adds 
* light afflictions/ and in the second he places 
' weight of glory.' With a smile of inexpressible 
sweetness, he adds to the 'fight afflictions,' even 
now only as the small dust of the balance, ■ but for 
a moment/ and to the 'weight of glory/ that 
wondrous word ' eternal/ and the first scale flies 
higher still into the air. It is ' lighter than vanity/ 
Paul, Paul," then exclaimed the preacher, " stay 
thine hand ; Jesus's suffering saints are satisfied ! 
The ' weight of glory ' is enough ! The * eternal ' 
glory meets their largest desires ! But no ! The 
apostle of God has not completed the contrast. 
To that ' weight of glory ' he adds that which is 
'far more exceeding ' as well as ' eternal / the scale 
in which are ' these light afflictions, which are but 
for a moment,' is raised so high that the afflictions 
dwindle into nothing, while the eternal glory, 
brought near to the believer's faith, fills his afflict- 
ed soul with joy unspeakable and full of glory/' 
The audience, catching the speaker's inspiration, 
would lift up their voices in one spontaneous burst 
of hallelujahs, and henceforth go on their way re- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 195 

joicing. Many of his sermons contain pictorial 
passages of this kind ; passages so vividly repre- 
senting an action or a scene as to remain fixed upon 
the memory for years. Encouraging the " burden- 
ed, sin-sick soul," to cast his care upon God, he 
would meet his doubts by exclaiming, " Say you 
that your burden is so heavy that you cannot carry 
it to the throne of God ? Then, my brother, roll 
it into his presence, and say from thine heart, 

1 Hangs my helpless soul on thee ; 
Leave, ah ! leave me not alone, 
Still support and comfort me .' 

God will touch it with his finger, and thou shalt be 
lightened of thy load." 

Mr. Hanwell entered the itinerant ministry in 
1805, and in some of his earlier stations had to 
suffer for his work's sake. Probably his diminu- 
tive person exposed him to annoyances which would 
have scarcely been ventured upon in the case of 
one with more imposing physical attributes; for 
scoffers are generally cowards, and are arrogant 
and oppressive in proportion to the prospect of 
impunity. From some of these annoyances his 
ready wit relieved him. Preaching once in one of 
the benighted rural villages of Yorkshire, a young 
man entered the room during the singing of the 
first hymn, evidently with the intention of creating 
a disturbance or interruption. To show his inde- 
pendence and disregard of divine worship, the 
stranger kept his hat on during the singing and 
prayer. Rising from his knees, and seeing the 



196 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

young man with his head still covered, Mr. Han- 
well saw that a direct remonstrance would be un- 
availing — would, indeed, be the very course the 
young man desired and expected him to take, and 
would afford the opportunity for colloquy and in- 
terruption. He therefore announced the page of 
the second hymn without appearing to notice the 
intruder, and then quietly observed, " There are 
in the world various denominations of Christians. 
Some denominations think it right to sing praises 
to God, as we do; others keep silence. Some 
think it most proper to pray to God in a stand- 
ing, others in a kneeling, posture. There is only 
one denomination of Christians in the world who 
worship God with their hats on ; they are called 
Quakers. They seldom come near our places of 
worship ; there seems, however, to be one here 
to-night ; there he is" he added, suddenly pointing 
w^ith his finger to where the young man stood. Of 
course the irreverent youth immediately became 
the "observed of all observers," but being com- 
pletely unprepared for this sudden introduction to 
his new associates, he yielded to the force of the 
sally and disappeared in a trice. The preacher 
smiled, and went on with the service. 

The writer's acquaintance with Mr. Hanwell 
commenced while the reverend gentleman was sta- 
tioned in the Barnsley circuit. During that ap- 
pointment the celebrated Leeds secession on the 
organ question took place, and the disaffection 
spread to most of the circuits in Yorkshire, includ- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 197 

ing Barnsley, where, however, the blended firm- 
ness, prudence, and forbearance of Mr. Hanwell 
prevented the evil from spreading beyond a very- 
limited circle. When he was first stationed upon 
the circuit, the people had, by some means, acquir- 
ed a habit of coming late to the house of God on 
Sunday morning ; and as he was somewhat exact 
and systematic, this was a serious annoyance to 
him, even apart from the deadness of the spiritual 
affections which such a habit indicated. He resort- 
ed to several expedients — now preaching a short 
measure sermon before the lessons, and apprising 
the late comers that he did it for their sakes, pre- 
ferring that they should lose the sermon rather 
than the word of God, and anon lecturing them 
severely both in private and from the pulpit — but 
still the evil continued, one family in particular 
invariably entering the house about half an hour 
after service commenced. Frequent expostulation 
having failed, he at length resolved upon a public 
rebuke, which he administered in the following 
caustic manner. The lady and gentleman occupied 
a large pew near the pulpit, at the end of the chapel 
furthest from the entrance. They were wealthy 
people, and the lady was usually attired in rustling 
silks, which attracted attention as she traveled the 
whole length of the aisle. Mr. Hanwell, on the 
occasion of the rebuke, was reading the second 
lesson, and had reached the middle of a verse, 
when the late comers entered. When they had 
proceeded so far that they could not well retreat, 



198 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

he suddenly stopped in the middle of a sentence — 
" and unto them that look for" — a pause ensued, 
without any falling of the voice ; the eyes of the 
preacher, and of course the congregation also, were 
fixed upon the late comers, amid a death-like still- 
ness, which made the rustling of the lady's dress 
trebly distinct; the lady and gentleman reached 
their seats, the preacher slightly inclined his head 
toward them, and proceeded with the reading at 
the exact point where he had broken off — " him, 
shall he appear," &c, &c. There was no need of 
repeating the reproof; the irreverent practice of 
coming late into the house of God was cured ; the 
example gave assurance that the reverend gentle- 
man was resolved upon enforcing a due observance 
of decorum, and his way for the future was in that 
respect made plain and easy. 

Few men are more happy and successful in ad- 
dressing young children than is Mr. Han well ; and 
all who have tried it know that this is a very dif- 
ficult department of ministerial duty. A favorite 
method with him is to take up some important 
principle, embody it in a short, pithy sentence, 
such as the youngest child can easily remember, 
and bring to its illustration facts from Scripture 
history, reducing the phraseology to that colloquial 
form so captivating to children. Thus clothing 
a fact in simple language, concealing its source, and 
giving to it certain touches of modern every-day 
life, so as to keep up the interest of his hearers, 
he will at length call upon them to tell him of a 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 199 

parallel history, which the better informed will di- 
rectly see is contained in some Bible narrative. 
Having obtained their answer, he will explain, with 
admirable tact and force, how it illustrates the 
principle with which he started ; and then, drawing 
upon his large fund of anecdote, show that the 
same principle is enforced or discountenanced, as 
the case may be, in the history of the world sub- 
sequent to the era of revelation. I have seen the 
reverend gentleman often, while he was stationed 
in Manchester, surrounded, at the Whitsuntide 
festival, by a large congregation of children, who 
listened for a full hour, and sometimes longer, with 
eager and delighted attention to his familiar but 
instructive addresses. Sunday schools, and young 
people generally, always participate largely hi his 
pastoral — it might be truly said paternal — care in 
the various circuits in which he travels ; and he 
has his reward in the affection which everywhere 
greets his appearance. 

A most pleasant companion, and a faithful, stead- 
fast friend, is the Rev. John Hanwell, wherever he 
places his confidence, and finds no barrier to open- 
hearted intercourse. Many a fatherly counsel has 
the writer received from him in early youth ; many 
a pleasant journey taken with him to the " circuit 
places," in the days of approaching manhood ; many 
an hour of social converse have we held under each 
other's roof in maturer life ; many a sigh have we 
mingled over the nearly deserted temple of God, 
when the church was riven by dissensions, and 



200 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

many an ardent hope have we breathed together 
as the cloud of discord was gradually dispelled ; 
many a time has he cheered me by his words of 
kindness, and his happy, contented spirit, in hours 
of personal sorrow and affliction, and rejoiced with 
me in brighter days ;— and still he labors unweari- 
edly in his hope and calling, looking for the re- 
compense of his reward. He must now be ap- 
proaching a ripe old age ; and sweet and pleasant 
must be his retrospect of faithful and successful 
service in the cause of the Redeemer of men. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 201 



" The love of Christ doth me constrain 
To seek the wand'ring souls of men ; 
With cries, entreaties, tears, to save, 
To snatch them from the gaping grave. 

" For this let men revile my name, 
No cross I shun, I fear no shame ; 
All hail, reproach ; and welcome, pain ; 
Only thy terrors, Lord, restrain." — /. Wesley. 

There are some eccentric men among the English 
Wesleyan preachers, as among those of other de- 
nominations ; and assuredly the Rev. Hodgson 
Casson is one of these. Such men serve an im- 
portant purpose in the army of them that preach 
the word, though sometimes their erratic course 
involves apparent confusion and disorder. They are 
not men whose examples are to be copied. Eccen- 
tricity is at best dangerous in a minister of the 
gospel, even when it is innate, original, and un- 
avoidable. Its possessor should ever check rather 
than foster it ; but when it is cultivated, assumed, 
worn as a garment to catch the public eye, it in- 
volves moral obliquity ; and for lack of the genius 
from which genuine eccentricity springs, is not less 
mischievous than contemptible. That the eccen- 
tricity of our present subject was born with him, 
and is inwoven with his very existence, does not 
admit of doubt ; and to that eccentricity he owes 
the considerable popularity he enjoys, which, how- 
ever, is mainly confined to the northern counties 



202 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

of England. Energetic, hardy, fearless of danger, 
and almost rash in braying it, indifferent to odium 
or ridicule, zealous in his Master's cause, and full 
of compassion for souls, the whole of his earlier 
life was a succession of erratic movements, and 
daring sorties upon the enemy's camp, often suc- 
cessful from their veiy suddenness and novelty ; 
and if unsuccessful, exciting admiration by the zeal 
which prompted and the courage which executed 
them. As is often the case with men of his class, 
the years of his effective itinerancy were compara- 
tively few. Although entering upon his labors so 
late as 1815, he has been for many years upon the 
superannuated list. 

As has been intimated, Mr. Casson's labors have 
been principally confined to the north of England. 
While stationed at Gateshead and Newcastle, he 
devoted himself principally to the reformation and 
religious enlightenment of the numerous coal- 
heavers, bargemen, and sailors of that port. Two 
or three anecdotes will sufficiently illustrate the 
character of the man, and his mode of procedure. 
Passing one of the low public-houses to be found 
in every seaport, he heard the sound of music, 
revelry, and dance, in an upper room ; while on 
the first floor, or bar-room, a crowd of riotous 
" longshore men " were quarreling and brawling. 
Never pausing to think of the personal risk he en- 
countered, he entered, pushed through the crowd 
below, ascended the rickety stairs, and soon stood 
in the centre of the group of dancers. His gaunt 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 203 

but muscular form, clothed in black, immediately 
arrested attention. Without giving the revelers 
time to recover from their surprise, he exclaimed, 
with the full power of his stentorian lungs, " There 
now, you have had dancing enough for awhile : 
let us pray. Down upon your knees, every man 
and woman of you." The entire group seemed 
deprived of all power of resistance, (and this was 
no isolated instance of the kind ;) the piping and 
the dancing ceased; soon Mr. Casson's powerful 
voice was heard in prayer ; strong cries and groans 
speedily followed from those who but a few mo- 
ments before were whirling in the dance ; the 
astonished landlord rushed up stairs, but fled af- 
frighted when he beheld the scene ; the drunken 
crowd below slunk away; and Mr. Casson re- 
mained the live-long night — wrestling, praying, and 
exhorting — ceasing not until many of his strange 
congregation had obtained mercy, and went to 
their homes new creatures in Christ Jesus. 

On another occasion he was returning on foot 
from a country appointment, and when near his 
home heard a man utter an awful imprecation, 
calling down with an oath God's eternal vengeance 
upon his soul. In a moment Mr. Casson stood 
before him, and, proffering him two half-crowns, 
said, " Here, my man, I will give you ^ye shillings 
if you will say that again, and ' amen ' after it." 
The man did so, and took the promised reward. 
Mr. Casson passed on, entered his house, but took 
no food or sleep until he had wrestled for hours 



204 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

with God for that man's salvation ; nor did he 
cease his intercession until he received an assurance 
that the desire of his soul should be granted. 
About a fortnight afterward, Mr. Casson was hold- 
ing a love-feast, when a man arose, under strong 
emotion, and told how, on a certain night, he was 
swearing, as was his habit, when a tall, black figure 
suddenly stood before him, and offered him five 
shillings to repeat the oath, with an " amen ;" that he 
repeated it with the addition, and took the reward ; 
went home, and told his wife of the circumstance ; 
that she refused to receive the money ; that it imme- 
diately flashed upon his mind that he had sold 
himself to the evil one ; that he had never touched 
the money since, but torn with remorse, and wretch- 
ed beyond endurance, he had wandered from place 
to place, seeking rest and finding none ; and had 
begged admission into that meeting, hoping that 
the people would do something to ease his troubled 
conscience. In a moment Mr. Casson was upon 
his feet, the next moment upon his knees, and, 
joined by the congregation, he wrestled, and re- 
fused to be silenced, until the man's sins were for- 
given, and his soul made to rejoice in the glorious 
liberty of God's children. 

The intelligent, pious reader, will not fail to attri- 
bute the success of each of these bold measures to 
the singleness of purpose which dictated it, and 
the earnest prayer with which it was accompanied. 
That was undoubtedly the grand secret. Similar 
instances, even more startling in their character, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 205 

might be cited, were further elucidation of that 
phase of Mr. Casson's character necessary. 

He often too experienced signal interpositions of 
divine Providence in his behalf ; Jehovah not only- 
protecting his servant from dangers to which his 
impetuous zeal exposed him, but sometimes making 
it apparent that his faithful minister was under his 
especial protection. It will excite no wonder that 
Mr. Casson's bold assaults upon the kingdom of 
darkness made him many enemies, and exposed 
him to the machinations of evil men, especially 
those who lived upon the follies and vices of the 
sin- pursuing throng. Once he was waylaid, when 
going to a country appointment, by two men, who 
had taken an oath to assassinate him as he passed 
a certain point on the road. When Mr. Casson 
reached the place, fear took hold upon them ; and 
they allowed him to pass without executing their 
murderous purpose. They followed him to the 
village ; turned into a public house, and, having 
fortified themselves with alcohol, the boldest of 
them repeated his oath, adding, that " as sure as 
he went out of that house alive, he would murder 
Hodgson Casson that night." After waiting in the 
house until they supposed Mr. Casson would be 
about returning, they arose to depart on their 
fiendish mission. The man who had renewed his 
oath fell upon the threshold of the house, and was 
taken up — dead. This fact is well authenticated. 
The inference is easily drawn. The survivor, 
struck with alarm and remorse, confessed their 



206 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

mutual purpose. The village was notorious for its 
wickedness. Mr. Casson had often been mobbed 
and stoned there, but ever after, when indications 
of such treatment appeared, he would boldly march 
up to them, and stay their persecution by only 

saying, " Remember ," mentioning the name 

of the man who died with a murder in his heart. 
I never heard Mr. Casson during the palmy days 
of his notoriety, but presume that he was mainly 
indebted to his zeal and eccentricity for his popu- 
larity. Some seven or eight years ago, being then, 
as now, supernumerary at Birstal, he preached an 
occasional sermon in the neighborhood of Man- 
chester, and I was induced to go and hear him. 
He was then emaciated and comparatively feeble. 
The sermon was upon the whole common-place, 
enlivened now and then with some burlesque upon 
the frivolities of worldly minded and fashionable 
Christians, with also some hard hits at what he 
called " dandy preachers." "When Christ wanted 
preachers," said Mr. Casson, "he did not go into 
a fashionable drawing-room, and, scraping and bow- 
ing to some exquisite who was lounging upon a 
velvet sofa, offer him a 'living' in his church," 
with more to the same purport, which, however, 
was more amusing than edifying. Yet with this 
there was also some good sense, and the sermon 
was calculated to do good. It was clear that the 
fire of his genius no longer gave out the warmth of 
early days. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 20*7 

Samtttl Bartekg. 

" An Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." 

The Rev. Samuel Bardsley (the " Dear Sammy," 
to whom Mr. Wesley addressed many of his short, 
pithy letters) is about the earliest Wesleyan Me- 
thodist minister of whom the writer has any per- 
sonal recollection. I was but a child when he 
visited my father's house, yet well remember his 
great simplicity of speech and manners, his lisping 
accents, and his mammoth bulk ; the latter being 
all the more indelibly fixed in my memory by the 
fact that he occupied a very capacious arm-chair, 
from which he extricated himself only with great 
difficulty. His name was familiar to the last gene- 
ration of Wesleyan Methodists. He was much 
beloved, not because of his pulpit talents, for they 
were of no very brilliant order, but for his trans- 
parent simplicity of character and purpose, his 
unassuming manners and genuine Christian feeling. 
His peculiarities often provoked a smile, but his 
experimental piety hallowed the circle in which 
he moved, and won for him the affection of all who 
were inheritors of the like precious faith. Un- 
learned and guiltless of much arduous study, he 
was sound in doctrine and devoted to his pastoral 
and pulpit duties. He possessed the wisdom that 
cometh down from above, while his simplicity and 
ingenuousness were a shield from the shafts of the 



208 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

critic and the learned. Sometimes, on entering 
a circuit, he would be coolly received by the finan- 
cial officers, and the more wealthy and intelligent 
part of the people ; but he invariably bore down 
all opposition of this kind in a few weeks, by the 
combined influence of his personal character and 
his devotion to the work of God. In later life he 
became well aware of this ; received the first indi- 
cations of dissatisfaction with imperturbable good 
humor ; smiled at the people's fears, and frankly 
told them that their apprehensions would prove 
groundless ; and would sometimes, indeed, exhibit 
a shrewdness and tact, of which many would sup- 
pose him incapable. 

At an official meeting, held shortly after his ar- 
rival in a certain circuit, it was intimated to him 
that he must expect to stay only one year. De- 
signedly misinterpreting the speaker, Mr. Bardsley, 
with a lisp, which need not be imitated, replied, 
" True, brethren, my appointment is only for one 
year, but we shall be so happy together, that, at 
the end of it, you will wish me to stay a second, 
and, perhaps, the Conference will reappoint me. 
The second year will be equally happy, and, as we 
work together, the cause of God will prosper so 
much, that you will petition Conference to give me 
a third appointment, and I should not wonder if 
Conference granted your request. At the end of 
that time we must part, but you will be very sorry 
to lose me." This put an extinguisher upon all 
further remonstrance. To say anything more woidd 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 209 

be to insult a man and a minister, whose piety and 
fidelity to his Master were unimpeachable. The 
result proved that "Sammy" was right. So 
"mightily grew the word of the Lord, and pre- 
vailed," that his successive reappointments were 
earnestly solicited ; and, at the end of the third 
year, the good man left an increased and prosper- 
ous society, amid universal regret and good- will. 

Mr. Bardsley was the Rev. Samuel Bradburn's 
spiritual father ; and Mr. Everett tells the following 
anecdote of the twain, who were, as was to be ex- 
pected, endeared friends. Bradburn, who, with 
all his nobleness and generosity of character, had 
his eccentricities and infirmities, not the least of 
which was the indulgence in sallies of wit at the 
expense of others, had been playing rather too 
freely upon Mr. Bardsley, who at length remon- 
strated : " Come, come, Sammy," said Mr. Bardsley, 
" recollect that though you have many brethren, 
you have but one father in the gospel." In a 
moment, Bradburn started from his seat, threw 
his arms around the neck of Bardsley, and, with a 
gush of tears at the recollection of early days, 
tremulously, and with impassioned feeling, observed, 
while hanging upon him with the doating fondness 
of a child, "The Lord knows I love you in the 
gospel next to my Saviour." Subsequently, the 
friends, each of them of liberal dimensions, were 
walking arm in arm in Sheffield, up a steep hill, in 
the burning heat of August, when they met a 
friend, and paused. Bradburn, wiping the per^ 

14 



210 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

spiration from his forehead, remarked : " Here we 
are, the two babes of the wood," obliquely glancing 
at Bardsley 's simplicity of character. 

Mr. Bardsley lived to a great age, but never be- 
came superannuated. He died " in the harness/' 
an honor for which many of his brethren were 
wont to pray, for generally the preachers have a 
strong aversion to becoming supernumeraries. The 
Conference of 1818 appointed him to the Man- 
chester circuit, where, if our memory is not at fault, 
he had once before labored. He was present at 
the Conference, but toward the latter part of the 
session was much debilitated. Yet he shrank not 
from duty, and, immediately after the close of the 
Conference, set out upon his journey to his ap- 
pointed sphere, in company with his friend, Rev. 
Francis Wrigley. He found himself unable to 
bear the fatigue of ordinary stage-coach traveling, 
and it was determined that the journey should be 
performed by post-chaise. This mode of traveling 
he endured with comparative comfort, until they 
reached Delph, a small manufacturing village on 
the main road between Huddersfield and Man- 
chester. Here they resolved to rest for the night, 
Manchester being within a few hours' easy travel. 
Having taken tea, Mr. Bardsley sat some time at 
the door, enjoying the mild autumnal breeze, and 
appearing much refreshed. Ere long, however, he 
expressed a wish to retire to rest, and Mr. Wrigley 
assisted him up stairs, which he ascended without 
any unusual difficulty. On reaching the topmost 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 211 

stair he sat down, apparently exhausted. Resting 
his arm on Mr. Wrigley's shoulder, or around his 
neck, as though embracing him, he quietly said, 
" My dear, I must die," and immediately expired. 

Sudden was the summons ; but it was met with 
calmness and holy confidence. Emphatically, he 
" entered into rest." His remains were carried to 
Manchester, and were committed to the tomb in 
the town from which, just half a century before, 
he went forth, an ambassador of Jesus, to declare 
the acceptable year of the Lord, and to preach the 
knowledge of remission of sins through the forbear- 
ance of God. At the time of his decease, he was 
the oldest effective itinerant preacher in the Wes- 
leyan Connection. The Rev. Joshua Marsden has 
thus beautifully recorded the circumstances of his 
death : — 

" Trav'ling through our vale of strife, 

With the weight of years opprest, 
Bardsley slipp'd away to life, 

In the sinless realms of rest : 
Jesus welcomes with a smile, 

Owns his aged servant dear ; 
Fifty years of holy toil 

Crowns with heaven's eternal year." 



212 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



®t)£0pt)Utt0 fttSBtQ. 

"His words seem'd oracles 
That pierced their bosoms ; * * 

* * * you could have heard 
The beating of your pulses while he spoke." — Croly. 

" an eye of fire." 

The name of Lessey is known in almost every 
place where Wesleyan Methodism has found an 
entrance, seeing that it has been borne and honored 
by two generations. The subject of this sketch 
was the " son of a prophet." He was born in 
Cornwall in 1787, received the baptismal rite at 
the hands of the venerable "Wesley, and was brought 
up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In 
the year 1795 he entered at Kings wood school, 
Rev. Joseph Bradford being then governor of the 
institution. Records of his early days seem to in- 
timate that the boy did not give promise of the 
man, either physically or intellectually, for he is 
said then to have been of rather diminutive and 
fragile frame, disinclined to the social sports of 
boyhood, fond of solitude, and devoid of distinc- 
tive mental character. He became a member of 
the Methodist Society in 1805, a local preacher in 
1807, was proposed for the itinerancy in 1808, 
and at the Conference of that year was appointed 
to the Norwich circuit, being then in the twenty- 
second year of his age. At the very outset his 
preaching was fervent and popular, and was ac- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 213 

companied by a special unction of the "Spirit 
which quickeneth ;" and in private life his social 
and vivacious nature showed itself. 

In the usual order of things Mr. Lessey should 
have been formally admitted into full connection 
at the Conference of 1812, he having passed the 
time of his probation with great credit. Circum- 
stances, however, prevented his personal attend- 
ance, and his formal recognition was therefore 
postponed until the Conference of the year 1814, 
but he was considered as received into full connection 
in all personal privileges consequent thereon, and 
in reference to his future standing. This included 
the right to take unto himself a wife, and to be re- 
ceived on his circuit as a married preacher. Into 
the "blessed estate" he entered immediately after 
the Conference, being then a second time ap- 
pointed to the Kidderminster circuit. Within the 
year, by one day, he was a widower, Mrs. Lessey 
having, some two months after their union, taken 
cold from exposure during a thunder storm, and 
fallen a victim to a rapid pulmonary disease. I 
mention this to introduce the following trait of the 
brotherly feeling which exists universally among 
the Wesleyan ministers. Mrs. Lessey's native 
place was Bristol. Early in 1813 her medical ad- 
viser expressed his conviction that her only chance 
of prolonging life was in breathing once more her 
native air. This was communicated to her friends, 
and thither by slow stages she was removed. Im- 
mediately on these facts coming to the knowledge 



214 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

of the Bristol preachers, one of them, the Rev. 
Thomas Clayton, offered to exchange with Mr. 
Lessey, for two or three months, or as long as cir- 
cumstances might require, that he might be near 
the wife of his youth during the affliction which, it 
was too plainly seen, would be unto death. The 
offer was of course gratefully accepted. The ex- 
change extended to a much longer period than 
had been anticipated, and thus was Mr. Lessey, 
under peculiarly trying circumstances, introduced 
into a large and important circuit, in every re- 
spect superior to that which Mr. Clayton had so 
kindly undertaken to supply. This early chasten- 
ing from the hand of his heavenly Father doubt- 
less contributed much to that peculiar tenderness 
toward those who were sorrowing which so emi- 
nently distinguished Mr. Lessey's preaching and 
correspondence. " Gold is tried in the fire, and 
acceptable men in the furnace of adversity." 

Mr. Lessey married again in 1815. The lady 
was the sister of Sir John Easthope, Bart. Scarcely 
a year transpired ere he was again a widower, his 
second wife also falling a prey to consumption, and 
leaving an infant in his charge. His third wife 
survives him. This second visitation nearly over- 
whelmed him, and for awhile he left the scenes 
that daily and hourly reminded him of his loss, 
and retired to his friends at Manchester. At the 
Conference of 1816 he accepted an invitation to 
Bath, much to the regret of the societies in the 
Derby circuit, where he had only labored one 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 215 

year. The change was necessary for his peace of 
mind, and his health. Here again he was called 
to suffer bereavement in the death of his infant 
daughter ; it became the occasion of a beautiful 
letter from Rev. Robert Hall, of whose acquaint- 
ance with Mr. Lessey I shall hereafter speak. 

Mr. Lessey's popularity was gradually acquired, 
and was the combined result of his inherent genius 
and matured Christian graces. In the year 1821 
he was appointed to take part in the services con- 
nected with the annual May meeting of the Wes- 
leyan Methodist Missionary Society. His labors 
on that occasion stamped with permanency his 
then rapidly augmenting popularity. He had re- 
tired to Weymouth, a comparatively obscure cir- 
cuit, the seaside having been recommended for the 
restoration of Mrs. Lessey's health, who had suf- 
fered for some time from a severe rheumatic affec- 
tion. At the following Conference (in August) he 
was appointed to Manchester, at the earnest solici- 
tation of the society, and with his own consent, his 
father being there established as supernumerary, 
and a brother and sister being also settled there. 
His colleagues were Revs. Robert Newton, Joseph 
Collier, John Anderson, and John Hawtrey ; the 
latter gentleman subsequently found a home in the 
bosom of the Established Church. It is no re- 
flection upon these reverend gentlemen to say that, 
with the exception of Mr. Newton, Mr. Lessey was 
the most popular of the quintette. He labored 
there three years, and at the expiration of their 



216 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

joint ministry the congregations and societies were 
so much increased that the circuit was divided. 
From this time he began to take an active part in 
missionary services and meetings, being frequently 
called upon to preach occasional sermons on be- 
half of missions. For such services he was emi- 
nently calculated, breathing into them a spirituality 
while he fostered the social spirit which is almost 
essential to the successful result of those peculiar 
means which the Methodist Church has employed 
to so large an extent. His addresses always com- 
manded the attention and interest of the audience, 
yet he seldom indulged in anecdote, and still more 
rarely, perhaps never, made a weapon of wit or 
humor. That was not his forte. 

The expiration of the time to which the Confer- 
ence, in conformity with the provisions of the 
" Deed of Declaration," limits the stay of a preacher 
in the same circuit, was the signal for numerous 
applications for Mr. Lessey's services. He chose 
Halifax, and the Conference appointed him there 
as superintendent, giving him as his colleague the 
Rev. William Vevers. While in this circuit he 
experienced a remarkable interposition of divine 
Providence, to which he was wont to refer in 
after life with very grateful emotion. Returning 
from an appointment, his horse took flight, and 
at the same moment one of the stirrup-leathers 
broke, and he was thrown to the ground with great 
violence. At the turnpike he recovered his horse, 
remounted, and rode home. With a solicitude 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 217 

that distinguished him as an affectionate husband, 
he carefully removed from his person all outward 
indications of the accident before he presented 
himself to Mrs. Lessey, whom, she being still in a 
weak state of health, he feared to alarm. She, 
however, soon detected a peculiarity in his man- 
ner — that he repeated the same inquiries several 
times, and otherwise betrayed disordered faculties. 
On being questioned, he at once admitted that he 
had fallen from his horse, but added, " What a 
mercy it is that I am not at all hurt ! I cannot 
sufficiently thank God for his preserving goodness." 
Mrs. Lessey immediately dispatched a messenger 
for medical assistance, and it was found that Mr. 
L. had suffered a severe concussion, the more fatal 
effects of which had been lessened by the shock 
being simultaneously borne by the point of the 
shoulder and the temple. A free application of 
leeches was made ; in a short time his recollection 
returned, and he suffered no further inconvenience 
from the accident. 

An accident from a similar cause was subsequent- 
ly the occasion of much pain and inconvenience. In 
the earlier years of his ministry he sprained his left 
knee by a fall from his horse, from which he seem- 
ed to recover at the time, but it was doubtless the 
cause of an occasional lameness to which he was 
subject all his life. Still he was unwilling to remit 
his usual labors, and actually preached at several 
places, once at Oldham- street, Manchester, on his 
knees, though even in that position, and with the 



218 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

occasional assistance of a chair, he endured acute 
pain. This affliction was exceedingly painful to 
him on his next circuit — Stockport — where the 
night walks were long. A sort of chronic rheu- 
matism had settled in the joint, and a walk of a 
few miles was distressingly painful, often leading 
to exhaustion and indisposition. He was wont to 
say that it hurt him less to preach six sermons than 
to walk so many miles.* 

In the year 1830 Mr. Lessey was elected a 
member of the " Legal Hundred " by a very large 
majority; and in 1831 was deputed to accompany 
the president in his annual visitation to Ireland. 
At the Conference of 1832 he was stationed in the 
City Road (London) circuit as the successor of 
Richard Watson. In 1834, he became, at the 
special request of the committee of the British and 
Foreign Bible Society, part of a deputation of that 

* Dr. Hannah mentions the following circumstance in his M Me- 
morials." It is strikingly characteristic of the man ; — " Mr. Lessey 
was prevailed upon, in the autumn of 1828, to try for a short time 
the efficacy of the spa at Admeston for the alleviation of the rheu- 
matic complaint, with which he continued to be affected. [He had 
also, in June of that year, suffered from what is usually called a 
stroke of the sun — in reality nervous exhaustion, brought on by- 
walking in much pain to his Sunday appointment in the heat of the 
day — which had seriously affected his general health.] He derived 
considerable benefit from it, but he generally seemed most success- 
ful when he sought health and ease in the prosecution of his accus- 
tomed labors. It is related that, in the month of March, 1S29, he had 
a severe attack of fever, winch confined him to his bed one Sunday 
until evening. He then rose, sent for a chaise, repaired to the 
chapel, where he preached an excellent sermon, on the occasion of 
the death of one of the oldest leaders of the society, from Nehemiah 
vii, 2 : ' H e was a faithful man, and feared God above many.'' A 
bold remedy this for a fever ! But it was in the course of his allotted 
duty, and it appears to have been efficacious." 






SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 219 

society to Yorkshire, and also took an active part 
in the preparatory measures for the establishment 
of the Wesleyan Theological Institution. In 1839 
he was elected president of the Conference. It 
was the Centenary year, and of course one of great 
importance and interest. It may, by the way, be 
remarked, that Mr. Lessey was the first preacher's 
son who had filled the presidential chair. There 
were misgivings that his peculiarly nervous temper- 
ament would to some extent unfit him for the effi- 
cient discharge of the responsible office. These 
apprehensions proved to be unfounded. His ex- 
amination of the probationary ministers greatly en- 
hanced his reputation as a sound, evangelical theo- 
logian, and his whole conduct during that memora- 
ble and eventful session won more than ever the 
affection and confidence of his brethren. There 
can be little doubt, however, that his exertions in 
the public devotional services, rather than in the 
Conference itself, laid the foundation of that dis- 
ease which deprived the Methodist Church of one 
of its brightest ornaments. 

The Conference was held in Liverpool. The 
writer conversed with several of the preachers as 
they passed through Manchester to their respective 
circuits, and all spoke of the high devotional spirit 
sustained by Mr. Lessey during the session ; but 
many of them expressed great fear that he had ex- 
ceeded his strength, and would experience the in- 
jurious if not fatal effects, when the general excite- 
ment in which he had so lately participated should 



220 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

settle down. Special reference was made by more 
than one to an evening service on the day which 
was specially set apart for the celebration of the 
Wesleyan Centenary — Monday, the 5th of August. 
The services were commenced by a prayer meeting 
at half-past seven o'clock, A.M. The Rev. Thomas 
Jackson, ex-president, preached at half-past ten, 
and in the evening Mr. Lessey preached from 
Psalm xc, 16, 17 : "Let thy wo7 % k appear unto thy 
servants." He had been carried beyond himself 
by the hallowed excitement of the day, and in the 
evening exerted himself to such a degree, that at 
the close of the service his voice was entirely gone. 
The glowing eloquence of that discourse was said 
to transcend all that had gone before, and the im- 
mense congregation hung upon his lips with ecstasy 
and astonishment. He however resumed his pre- 
sidential duties on the following day, and continu- 
ed in their discharge until the close of the session. 
Mr. Lessey was now, and had been for some 
seven or eight years, on the pinnacle of popularity. 
His occasional services were more in requisition 
than those of any other preacher, if we except 
Mr. Newton, and his usefulness was commensurate 
with his popularity. He was, indeed, taken away 
in the midst of his days. It was deemed necessary 
by the Conference, in view of the numerous and 
important engagements which would necessarily 
devolve upon the president during the Centenary 
year, that he should reside in London, and Mr. 
Lessey was stationed there though he had been 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 221 

but one year at Bristol, where he had laid out and 
was carrying on plans of extensive usefulness. He 
had not long entered upon his new station before 
he caught a slight cold, which was followed by a 
troublesome cough. Disregarding this, he continu- 
ed preaching, and expectoration of blood followed. 
Concealing this from his friends, and probably 
deeming it only a temporary ailment, he still per- 
sisted in his accustomed labors, traveling and 
preaching, until, accidentally dining with a medical 
friend, he was warned of his danger and strictly 
prohibited from further public exercises. From 
the beginning of October, 1839, to January, 1840, 
his life hung in the balances, and once or twice his 
weeping friends had given him up as dead. With 
returning spring, however, he rallied considerably, 
having spent the winter at the house of a friend in 
Bedfordshire. In March he was able to return to 
London, and though at considerable risk, presided 
over a committee of ministers convened at the Mis- 
sion-house, Hatton Garden, to take leave of Rev. 
Robert Newton, when embarking for this country 
as a deputation from the British to the Methodist 
Episcopal General Conference. The affectionate 
greeting of his brethren, and their irrepressible joy 
at having him once more among them, deeply 
affected him. His reply to their cordial greeting 
moved every one present, and he himself could 
scarcely sustain his emotions while he spoke of the 
manifestations of divine love with which he had 
been favored, and of his present feelings, hopes, 



222 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

and purposes. It was found that the excitement 
of London was more than he could safely endure, 
and he was again compelled to retire to the west 
of England. In the following May, after a silence 
of more than seven months, he ventured to preach 
at Exeter, selecting the appropriate and expressive 
text, Job x, 12, " Thou hast granted me life and 
favor, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit." 
Those only who were accustomed to his ministry 
can imagine with what sweetness and eloquence he 
would expatiate on such a theme under such cir- 
cumstances. Shortly afterward he attended a 
missionary meeting in the same city, and spoke at 
some length on the greatness and glory of the mis- 
sionary work as viewed by one who stood on the 
borders of the unseen world. Mr. William Dawson 
was present and had to follow Mr. Lessey, but 
when he attempted to speak he was overpowered 
and burst into tears. Finding himself unable to 
proceed, he asked of the chairman permission to 
give out a single verse of a hymn, — 

" Till glad he lays this body down, 
Thy servant, Lord, attend ; 
And O ! his life of mercy crown, 
With a triumphant end." 

The words were so appropriate, and the allusion 
so striking, that it could not fail to be felt by the 
audience, who sung the verse with much emotion 
and deep feeling ; Mr. Lessey buried his face in 
his cloak while the verse was sung, and for some 
time after was deeply affected. 

The writer has been present at one scene, and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 223 

but one, parallel to this in touching solemnity. It 
was at Oldham-street, Manchester, when the famed 
and gifted Dr. M'All preached the annual sermon 
before the Wesleyan Missionary Society for the 
Manchester district. Dr. M'All was pastor of a 
Congregational Church in that town, beloved and 
almost idolized by his people. He was of an emi- 
nently catholic spirit, and had, a long time in ad- 
vance of the anniversary, consented to perform this 
service. In the mean time pulmonary disease seized 
upon him, and death had unmistakably marked 
him as its prey. His liberal heart, however, was 
bent upon this act of fraternization with his Me- 
thodist brethren, with many of whom he was on 
terms of closest friendship. On the appointed 
evening he left a sick room, and almost a death- 
bed, to fulfill his engagement, and no remonstrance 
could induce him to swerve from his purpose. The 
chapel was crowded to excess a full hour before 
the service commenced, for the eloquent preacher 
was universally beloved, and his voice in the sacred 
desk had long been silent. Rev. William M. Bunt- 
ing occupied the pulpit jointly with him, and took 
the whole of the service preparatory to the sermon : 
they were kindred spirits and bosom friends. Dr. 
M'All rose feebly, and in a low voice announced as 
his text the sublime passage commencing the sixty- 
third chapter of Isaiah, " Who is this that cometh 
from Edom" &c, fixing, especially upon the last 
clause of the first verse, " mighty to save." Soon his 
spirit fired with the theme, and for more than an 



224 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

hour the literally dying man poured forth a tor- 
rent of impassioned eloquence and evangelical truth 
that perfectly spell-bound the large body of minis- 
ters surrounding him, while the whole congregation, 
inconveniently pressed as they were on all sides, 
were silent and motionless as the grave which was 
soon to close over the speaker. But the enfeebled 
frame was unequal to the exertion, and Mr. Bunt- 
ing observed that the doctor's limbs shook and his 
frame tottered. Seizing, therefore, the first break 
in the discourse, he rose and requested the con- 
gregation to sing a verse or two so as to allow the 
preacher a few minutes' rest. He then gave out 
the two following verses, embodying, as it will be 
seen, the great theme of the preacher's discourse : — 

" Thou standest in the holy place 

As now for guilty sinners slain ; 
The blood of sprinkling speaks, and prays, 

All prevalent for helpless man ; 
Thy blood is still our ransom found, 
And speaks salvation all around. 

" The smoke of thy atonement here 
Darken' d the sun and rent the veil, 

Made the new way to heaven appear, 
And show'd the great Invisible : 

Well pleased in thee, our God look'd down, 

And calls his rebels to a crown." 

The congregation joined the choir in singing ; the 
immense volume of vocal praise pealed forth from 
nearly four thousand devout hearts ; the swelling 
symphony seemed to increase in power and mean- 
ing at every line, and it was, taking all the circum- 
stances into the account, one of the most solemn 
and impressive, yet exciting acts of public worship 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 225 

I was ever present at : men stood with reverent 
and heartfelt joy in the temple of the Lord of 
hosts as in the ancient days ; nay, it was as though 
we stood at the heavenly portals, the everlasting 
gates lifted up, and the vast congregation entering 
with songs of grateful triumph into the very pre- 
sence of Him who was incarnate that he might 
become "mighty to save." The effect upon the 
dying M'All was magical. Scarcely had the echo 
of the last note died on the ear, before he sprang, 
invigorated, to his feet, and, catching the sentiment 
of the hymn, perfectly electrified the audience for 
an hour and a quarter longer, by some of the most 
brilliant flashes of genius and glowing eloquence 
that ever passed from mortal lips. Alas ! they 
were the notes of the dying swan — that service 
was his last. 

We left Mr. Lessey engaged at a missionary 
meeting at Exeter. He so far recovered from the 
affliction which had overtaken him, as to attend the 
Irish Conference in his official character ; but, ere 
the commencement of the English Conference, such 
unfavorable symptoms appeared, that his medical 
advisers strictly forbade his attendance there. He 
wrote to the Conference, announcing the decision 
to which his medical advisers had come, pouring 
forth the sorrows of his heart under the disap- 
pointment, yet expressing his entire resignation to 
the divine will. He was then at his own home in 
London, but subsequently removed to Luton, Bed- 
fordshire, a climate that appears peculiarly to have 

15 



226 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS, 

suited his constitution. Through the winter of that 
year, 1840, he lingered with fluctuating health, 
necessarily abstaining from all public exercises, but 
employing himself in reading and correspondence. 
With spring came more alarming symptoms of his 
disease. At his own earnest request, though unfit 
for the journey, he was removed to London by 
slow stages. His days were now numbered ; and 
on the 10th of June he "passed through death 
triumphant home/' under circumstances that can- 
not be better described than in the touching nar- 
rative of Dr. Hannah : — 

" He signified a wish, contrary to his usual custom, 
that every one would leave him at dinner time, 
saying that he could easily ring the bell if he 
wanted anything. Mrs. Lessey begged that she 
might remain and dine with him ; at which he 
seemed much pleased, and for half an hour before 
dinner talked cheerfully with her. When he had 
partaken of his food, which he appeared greatly to 
relish, he settled himself in his easy chair for a 
short sleep, while, at his request, Mrs. Lessey em- 
ployed herself in writing letters. He rose about 
four o'clock, took a few strawberries, and walked 
a little in the room. He then sat down, coughing 
very slightly. Mrs. Lessey perceived that he was 
spitting blood, and instantly went to him. He 
quietly asked her for a larger basin. She fetched 
one, and rang the bell. Pulling it again rather 
hastily, for the blood began to flow more profusely 
than it had ever done before, he calmly said to her, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 227 

4 Do not be in a hurry.' He then rose from his 
chair, put his hand on his chest, and drew himself 
up, as if oppressed with a feeling of suffocation. 
He walked toward his sleeping apartment, resting 
one arm on Mrs. Lessey, and the other on the 
servant who just then came into the room. Sitting 
down on the side of the bed, he reclined his head 
on the bosom of his wife, while she supported him 
with her left hand, and with the right took hold 
of his hand as it rested on his knee. An appre- 
hension of immediate danger seized her mind ; and 
she began to point him to Christ as his sure re- 
fuge and support. Within a minute she perceived 
a slight quiver, or tremulous motion, pass through 
his frame : his countenance changed, and his head 
drooped. She asked him if he could not speak 
one word to her. But there was no sound, nor 
the gentlest return of the pressure of her hand. 
Life had departed ; and all that remained was 
clay. So died this servant of Christ, in the fifty- 
fifth year of his age, and the thirty-third of his 
ministry." 

Mr. Lessey 's personal appearance was not cal- 
culated to win at first sight. Around the mouth 
was an expression of hauteur, not to say harsh- 
ness, and there was a flash of the eye, that did not 
make an agreeable first impression upon the mind 
of an observer. During one part of his life, that 
preceding his more severe sickness, while laboring 
imder considerable derangement of the nervous 
system, he was somewhat irritable and brusque to 



228 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

strangers. It required some tact to approach him 
safely. This, however, was not his natural dispo- 
sition — it was the result of a long-growing indis- 
position, and was a subject of considerable mental 
distress to himself. His private correspondence 
and domestic intercourse were the best indices 
of the affection and humility which dwelt in his 
heart. By those who knew him best, he was most 
deeply beloved. He never lost a friend, and the 
affection of those admitted into that relation seem- 
ed to increase with years. 

Allusion has been made to his acquaintance with 
the Rev. Robert Hall ; a gentleman not likely to 
take into familiar intercourse and correspondence 
any man of mediocre qualities or attainments either 
of piety or intellect. No mere outside show would 
do for Robert Hall ; no tinsel would dazzle him. 
Indeed, he was rather prone to judge harshly and 
keenly of others. On one occasion a Methodist 
missionary meeting was held at Leicester ; and Mr. 
Hall, with a friend, stepped in to hear and see how 
these Methodists managed such matters. The 
first speaker happened to be Richard Watson. 
Hall sat indifferent for the first few sentences, but 
ere long he was seen to exhibit indubitable signs 
of awakened interest and admiration, and soon he 
was fully absorbed in Mr. Watson's address ; for 
it was one of his masterly expositions of the entire 
subject of Christian missions. Frequent were Mr. 
Hall's half-spoken expressions of delight as Mr. 
Watson advanced from position to position, ever 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 229 

planting his foot firmly, and removing all obstacles 
to further advancement until he had fully vindi- 
cated the noble enterprise from the attacks of 
opponents, and from the misgivings and suspicions 
of faint-hearted friends. When Mr. Watson had 

concluded, the Rev. Mr. rose, (I do not give 

the name — I knew him well, and little did he de- 
serve Mr. Hall's rude remarks ; but he was a per- 
fect antipodes to Mr. Watson, and Mr. Hall's nerves 
could not bear the sudden transition,) and in a 
strain of loud declamation commenced his speech. 
Mr. Hall turned abruptly to his friend and said, 
" 0, let us go. This is always the way with show- 
men — the lions first, and the monkeys afterward." 
Between Mr. Lessey and Mr. Hall a strong and 
enduring friendship sprang up, and it originated 
under rather peculiar circumstances. Mr. Lessey 
was visiting Leicester to preach sermons on behalf 
of the Wesleyan Sunday school. He took the op- 
portunity of procuring an introduction to Mr. Hall, 
and at his request preached for him on the Sun- 
day morning, Mr. Lessey's occasional services em- 
bracing only the afternoon and evening. He se- 
lected a theme on which I have heard him preach 
with astonishing eloquence and unction — the trans- 
figuration of our Lord. It was a favorite topic, 
and few men could touch it with so masterly a 
hand. The congregation were so charmed with 
the discourse and with the preacher that in the 
afternoon a deputation waited upon him, offering, 
jointly with their distinguished pastor, the use of 



230 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

their chapel for the evening sermon in behalf of the 
Wesleyan Sunday schools. The building being 
much larger than the chapel then occupied by the 
Wesleyans, the offer was accepted with the same 
promptness with which it was made, and the ne- 
cessary announcements were promulgated. 

But now a new difficulty arose. Mr. L. on re- 
tiring, as was his wont, a short time before the 
commencement of the service, for meditation and 
prayer, accidentally saw a volume of Mr. Hall's 
sermons on the book shelves, took it down and 
opened upon a sermon which Mr. Hall had 
preached, in the very pulpit he was about to oc- 
cupy, only a short time before, upon the same 
text which he had himself chosen as his sub- 
ject for that evening's discourse. Any who knew 
Mr. Lessey would not wonder at his feeling much 
embarrassed. He shrunk from standing on ground 
already occupied by so truly a giant in intellect as 
Robert Hall. Time, however, pressed, and after 
great hesitation he selected another text, fell upon 
his knees and earnestly besought help from God, 
went to the chapel and preached an eloquent and 
powerful sermon, which called forth the thanks of 
Mr. Hall, with whom, according to a previous en- 
gagement, he spent the remainder of the evening.* 

* Robert Hall, by the way, was not given to compliment. Once, 
when the paroxysms of pain, to which lie was all his life subject, 
were so increasing upon him that it was deemed important for him 
to consult an eminent physician in London, he took the opportunity 

of hearing the Rev. Dr. . Self-abased, and dissatisfied with 

himself, he returned to Leicester, called together the official mem- 
bers of the church, and insisted upon resigning his office, from 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 231 

Mr. Lessey's preaching was eminently distin- 
guished for its richness and fullness of evangelical 
truth, and the glow of piety it diffused or enkin- 
dled in the congregation. His sermons were full 
of Christ — the atonement, intercession, and priestly 
office of u the Son of man," seemed to be the first 
and last of all his studies ; and all he said appeared 
to gush almost unbidden from a heart surcharged 
with the glorious theme. On the priesthood of 
Christ, and his sympathy with his people, I never 
heard his equal, and very much question whether, 
in this respect, his superior has appeared in any 
denomination since the days of the author of the 
Epistle to the Hebrews. This is a theme on which, 
perhaps, ministers generally do not sufficiently 
dwell — it is at the very root of all Christian confi- 
dence, and hope, and joy ; and as a subject for in- 
vestigation and discourse is inexhaustible. The 

which step it seemed as though no argument could move him. Re- 
fore the interview was closed, (and it was on the Saturday even- 
ing, by the way,) a minister of the same persuasion, from a neigh- 
boring town, called upon Mr. Hall, who immediately proposed to 
him to occupy his pulpit in this strait. The visitor, who had a 
considerable share of vanity, was elated at the proposal, but thought 
it becoming to make many refusals and protestations of his unfit- 
ness, &c. These were all silenced, however, by Mr. Hall's pe- 
remptory, " Sir, you must preach." Mr. Hall attended, and accom- 
panied the reverend gentleman into the vestry at the close of the 
service. " Sir, I am your debtor, unspeakably your debtor, sir," 
said Mr. Hall, the friends around listening with astonishment, for, 
sooth to say, the sermon had been remarkable for little beyond its 
pedantry and nothingness. " Sir, your sermon has done me good ; 
it has broken a snare in which the devil had entangled me. I had 

been up to London, sir, and had heard that great man, Dr. , and 

was so mortified with myself that I resolved never to preach again. 
But, sir, I have heard you, and now, sir, I shall preach again with 
some comfort," 



232 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS, 

first sermon I heard from him was on this topic. 
All the rich stores of a mind taught to derive its 
consolations from faith in the sympathy of Him 
who " was in all points tempted like as we are," 
were poured forth before the congregation ; and 
the people were lifted out of themselves in con- 
templation of their oneness with him, who, as their 
elder Brother, and as " High Priest over the house 
of God," ever sympathizes with our sorrows, and 
represents our interests in the " courts above." 
The feeling with which Mr. Lessey gave out the 
first hymn awakened a holy joy and confidence in 
one's breast. 

"Hail, thou once despised Jesus, 
Hail, thou Galilean King- ; 
Thou didst suffer to release us, 
Thou didst sure salvation bring," 

was uttered with a pathos that revealed to my 
mind new poetic and spiritual beauties, and that 
seemed to fire the vast congregation. 

Proofs of the efficacy of his preaching were 
abundant. Few men in modern days have had so 
many seals to their ministry — so many known 
proofs that their word quickened — as Mr. Lessey, 
apart from some known as revivalists ; and I doubt 
whether any one of that class had so many perma- 
nent converts. He scarcely preached a sermon 
without fruit ; and oftentimes the word from his 
lips — from his heart — was blessed in an extraor- 
dinary degree. The cause was, that his sermons 
enlightened the understanding as well as moved 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 233 

the feelings — his preaching was like the warm sun 
illuminating the darkness, melting the obduracy of 
the sinner's heart, and winning the affections and 
judgment for Christ. On one occasion he preached 
a sermon to young people at Halifax, under which 
upward of twenty young men were moved to seek 
the Lord, and all who have not passed into heaven 
remain, to this day, steadfast in the faith. To 
that band of young men, and those whom they 
again were instrumental in reclaiming from sin and 
Satan's power, may be attributed the erection of 
an additional chapel at Halifax, and the spread of 
Methodism to a wide extent in that neighborhood. 
Similar manifestations of the presence of God ac- 
companied nearly every sermon Mr. Lessey preach- 
ed. Nor was it to be marveled at. Those who 
were favored with his correspondence, know that 
he always breathed the spirit of his Master, and 
knew no toil in the great work whereunto he was 
called. 

Let it not be supposed that, in dwelling upon 
the more touching truths of divine revelation, Mr. 
Lessey forgot to vindicate the justice, purity, and 
majesty of God, or to hurl the terrors of the law 
against the profligate and impenitent. His Sunday 
evening discourses were sometimes calculated to 
make the sinner's flesh creep upon his bones, so 
fearful were the pictures he drew of the ter- 
rors of death, the eternal torment, and the mad- 
dening anguish of unceasing wo. A glance of 
his eye was like the piercing of a sharp sword — it 



234 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

was scarcely bearable when directed with its deep 
blaze — if I may use the term — or its flash of scorn, 
upon the enemies of the Redeemer. No words, 
even from his own eloquent lips, could express 
what that eye could — and he knew how to use it. 
In stature, Mr. Lessey was about five feet eleven 
inches, of robust frame, slightly inclining to corpu- 
lency, hair originally black, but in later years 
freely sprinkled with the frost of age. He was 
favored with a fine voice, capable of the tenderest 
intonations, and of considerable compass. His 
complexion was somewhat sallow and dark, and 
the lines of his face strongly marked. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 235 

(Stomas garrison tDalker. 

" , gifted, noble, ardent, kind." 

The publication, in this country, of a volume from 
the pen of this gentleman, entitled, a " Companion 
for the Afflicted," which the Rev. Dr. Peck, in an 
introductory page, fitly characterizes as "precious," 
naturally suggests his introduction to the reader of 
these sketches. The book is comparatively a re- 
cent production, and is a fair criterion by which to 
judge of the author's ministerial talents. There 
have been circumstances in his personal history 
peculiarly adapted to call forth his strongest sym- 
pathies with those who are called to pass through 
great tribulation, and to lead him to meditate fre- 
quently upon those mysterious dispensations of the 
divine government which ever and anon cast a 
temporary gloom over the Christian's path. Right- 
ly to counsel the afflicted is a more difficult task 
than many suppose. It involves nice and delicate 
points. The indiscriminate application of Scripture 
promises is rarely safe ; it is never satisfactory to -an 
intelligent and reflecting mind. Those promises are 
all conditional; they presuppose certain constitu- 
ents of character. Christians are often more eager 
to claim a divine promise than they are to inquire 
into the justice of their claim. Christian fidelity is 
a high virtue, and has reference to the thoughts 
and intentions of the heart — the secret chambers 



236 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

of imagery — as well as to the outward actions and 
the performance of prescribed duties. For want 
of self-examination many fail to discover in their 
afflictions the chastisement of their infidelities, and 
our heavenly Father has to inflict stroke upon stroke 
before we are willing to retire into our closets to 
inquire what he means and wherefore we are 
chastened. Hence the pastor of God's people 
should be diligent and careful in the interpretation 
of afflictive dispensations. He must neither too 
hastily pour in consolation, nor needlessly keep 
open the wound. He must discriminate between 
what, in the moral government of the Most High, 
is permitted and what appointed ; between what is 
general and what specific ; what the certain effect 
of known causes, and what superior or contrary 
thereto. He should exercise a wise care to pro- 
mote the design of the chastisement, even though 
it be necessary to probe deeply the wounds which 
already quiver at the slightest touch ; and there 
should be, in no less degree, a skillful and prompt 
application, where justifiable, of the healing balm — 
those exceeding great and precious promises which 
are the heritage of God's faithful people when 
afflicted in mind, body, or estate. But above all, 
he is most competent to " comfort those that mourn' * 
who has an experimental knowledge both of the 
sorrows of tribulation and their antidote. One 
severe trial, sanctified to the sufferer and received 
with self-examination, will often give, more than 
volumes of theology and years of study, a key to 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 237 

the whole subject. The counsels of one thus qua- 
lified, oral or written, are profitable to those who 
are " chastened of the Lord ;" he becomes in all the 
fullness of the language a "companion for the 
afflicted." 

Such a man is the Rev. T. H. Walker. Gifted 
with superior intellect, a diligent and extensive 
reader, a close student of human character, and a 
careful observer — with a nature susceptible of the 
kindliest sympathies — always chaste in expression 
and often truly eloquent ; preserving the dignity of 
the ministerial character while he cheerfully per- 
forms its minutest duties ; he was regarded in his 
best days as a model of a Christian pastor, and 
commanded the best circuits. More recently he 
has had less prominent stations. As a preacher 
few men can so irresistibly elevate his hearers to a 
high standard both of faith and practice, without 
in the least degree bordering on enthusiasm or 
eccentricity. Carefully laying down his principles 
in the former part of his discourse, he will, toward 
its conclusion, glowingly expatiate upon the prin- 
cipal theme, securing the assent of the judgments 
of his hearers while he excites the most hallowed 
emotions within their hearts. In the conduct of 
prayer meetings he is eminently successful, especi- 
ally in addressing and encouraging the penitent 
and broken-hearted. To the young he is both 
pastor and friend. 

Some ten years ago Mr. Walker's personal ap- 
pearance was pleasing and imposing. He is about 



238 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHEKS. 

five feet eleven inches in height, rather spare than 
fleshy, hair of raven blackness, a fine eye, a patch 
of color upon the cheek, closely resembling a hectic 
flush, especially when excited with preaching, and 
of very gentlemanly manners and address. Proba- 
bly the lapse of years, with other circumstances, 
has wrought a considerable change in his outward 
man since the writer had the privilege of sitting 
under his ministry. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 239 



Sttram Clarke, ££.$., f.%3. 

" So then, humbly with his God, and proudly independent of his 

fellows, 
Walketh in pleasures multitudinous, the man ennobled by his 

pen ; 
He hath built up, glorious architect, a monument more durable 

than brass, 
His children's children shall talk of him in love, and teach their 

sons his honor ; 
His dignity hath set him among princes, the universe is debtor to 

his worth ; 
His privilege is blessing for ever ; his happiness shineth now, 
For he standeth of that grand election, each man one among a 

thousand, 
Whose sound is gone out into all lands and their words to the end 

of the world." — Proverbial Philosophy. 

The Rev. Dr. Clarke, when I first saw him, struck 
me forcibly, and no less favorably, by his benevo- 
lent aspect : his hair, white with age, was thrown 
back from his forehead and temples ; his complex- 
ion was ruddy ; his step, for his years, firm and 
elastic, and his entire appearance indicative of 
health ; his person of full average height, and in- 
clining to corpulency ; and his features bland, de- 
noting openness and frankness. He was dressed 
much in the style of an English country gentle- 
man — top-boots, drab breeches, blue coat, with 
covered or silk buttons, pale buff vest, drab hat, 
and snow-white neckcloth — and had the air of one 
accustomed to the best society. 

Every Methodist is probably aware that Dr. 
Clarke was of Irish birth, being a native of Moybeg, 



240 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

an inconsiderable town in the county of London- 
derry. This could scarcely be known from his 
conversation, the peculiar but rich and not unmu- 
sical brogue of his country having probably been 
lost in the acquisition of other languages, espe- 
cially as he left Ireland while yet a mere youth. 
But perhaps his Hibernian origin might be traced 
in the pleasant egotism which was sometimes ap- 
parent in his character, some amusing instances of 
which may be found in the Autobiography which 
forms the first volume of the Memoirs published 
by his family, and occasionally, though more rarely, 
in his journal and familiar correspondence. This 
was, it might almost be said, the only failing of this 
great man ; the opaque spot upon a character of 
unsurpassed lustre and transparency. Even this 
weakness was more diverting than baneful. It 
sometimes excited a smile, but never awakened 
disrespect. It was a simplicity of candor which 
indicated honesty far more than it did vanity or 
self-complacency, and was the antipodes of parade 
or assumption of superiority; of these Dr. Clarke 
could never be rightfully accused. His godly sin- 
cerity and fervent piety always outshone his scho- 
lastic attainments, and his Christian principles 
saved him from the spirit which too often ac- 
companies such elevation among men as that to 
which he attained. His freedom of speech re- 
specting himself partook of that openness, mutual 
confidence, and unrestrained pleasantry, which 
private intercourse among Englishmen permits and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 241 

justifies ; albeit with a bias in the direction already 
mentioned. 

There was a native nobility in the character of 
Dr. Clarke. He was above dissimulation or con- 
cealment of his sentiments, and avowed them with 
frankness when circumstances seemed to require it. 
Conscious of his sincerity and uprightness, he did 
not in his ordinary conversation pause to consider 
what construction others would or could put upon 
his words. And in this he showed true greatness. 
It is ever an indication of littleness of mind — of a 
very small amount of self-reliance — to be over 
solicitous about the opinions of others, or to be 
craving after public approbation — to be fearful lest 
our slightest expression should be misconstrued or 
unappreciated. Such a disposition betrays a con- 
sciousness of merely superficial attainments, and 
betokens the absence of that strength of character 
and rectitude of principle upon which the truly 
great can fall back and peacefully recline amid any 
amount of misrepresentation of either words or 
actions. To such littleness the subject of this 
sketch was an entire stranger, and perhaps carried 
his frankness to an excess, as many lesser men do 
their circumspection. Indeed, upon a review of 
Dr. Clarke's "rise and progress," it would have 
been marvelous if he did not sometimes signify a 
consciousness of the distinctions which had been 
heaped upon him, never beyond his deserts ; and 
it was a triumph of divine grace that the honors 
gathered from the church and the world, in such 

16 



242 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

merited profusion, marred not the harmony and 
simplicity of his character. Thrice was he, by the 
unsought suffrages of his brethren, elected to the 
highest office in their gift — the presidency of the 
Conference — a distinction which in his day no other 
preacher attained. Among the people, his earnest, 
experimental preaching, and his numerous theolo- 
gical writings, had secured to him a universal popu- 
larity. His learned and invaluable Commentary 
had established among all other religious denomi- 
nations, and among learned men generally, his high 
reputation as a scholar. His acquaintance was 
courted by the savans of Europe ; a prince of the 
House of Brunswick (the Duke of Sussex) delight- 
ed to associate with him ; the British and Foreign 
Bible Society openly acknowledged their indebted- 
ness to him, not only for counsel and aid in the 
matter of translating the Scriptures into the ori- 
ental languages, but in devising and casting model 
founts of oriental type; the British government, 
against the repeated expression of his wishes, re- 
tained for ten years his services in deciphering and 
arranging its ancient manuscripts, and frankly ex- 
pressed its indebtedness to him by placing upon 
its imperishable records a memorial of his " exten- 
sive learning and indefatigable industry ;" yet he 
still remained, as in the days of his youth, a 
Methodist preacher, in spirit, in labors, in accepta- 
bility, and in usefulness ; one with his brethren in 
ardent attachment to the principles and economy 
of Wesleyan Methodism, as handed down to them 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 243 

by its founder, and so wonderfully owned of God 
as a means for the world's salvation ;— its fearless 
advocate, and its able defender. 

Ten years subsequent to the time referred to at 
the commencement of this sketch, the writer next 
saw and heard Dr. Clarke in the pulpit of Brunswick 
Chapel, Leeds. He was then more clerically attir- 
ed, his dress being such as is generally worn by his 
associates in the ministry. He preached twice on 
that day in behalf of the trust-funds of the chapel, 
which was densely crowded. The two collections, 
taken up in the usual way in boxes or plates, 
amounted to about two hundred and fifty pounds 
sterling. I remember feeling some disappointment 
under the morning sermon, especially in the former 
part, in view of the preacher's high reputation for 
learning ; but this feeling subsided toward the close, 
borne down by the torrent of evangelical truth by 
which the discourse was distinguished. As the 
doctor approached the conclusion of the sermon, 
and gathered into one rich cluster the vast truths 
which his arguments had unfolded in the former 
parts, his face glowed with deep feeling, and after 
dwelling for a moment upon their vast importance, 
he swept his hand across the space before him, as 
a farmer would in sowing grain broadcast, and ex- 
claimed, with great energy, "There, take these 
glorious truths among you — make the most of 
them for your personal salvation and comfort ; 
they are truths, I will vouch for them — for that I 
will stake my reputation for intellect and common 



244 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

sense ; and if they hung but by a single hair of this 
gray head, (pointing to his snowy locks,) that 
single hair would be found so firmly united to the 
throne of the Redeemer, that all the malignity of 
hell and the sophistry of the world might be defied 
to cut it in two." The effect of this, but feebly 
given from memory, was magical. A burst of joy 
broke from the auditory, which showed that they 
had made the application of his subject which he 
desired. The evening sermon* was a still richer 
feast. The doctor caught fire at an expression in 
the second hymn, and the sermon was full of the 
unction of the Holy One. 

No just opinion of Dr. Clarke as a preacher can 
be formed from his published sermons. This will 
be conceded by all who have heard him preach, 
and read his printed discourses. In the pulpit he 
labored to effect present good ; through the press 
he spoke to future generations, and probably con- 
sidered that while the majority of those who at- 
tended upon his ministry were unlearned, a fair 
proportion of those who bought and read published 
sermons were accustomed to reflect, were capable 
of pursuing and comprehending more elaborate 

* In writing these sketches, for the material of which I have had 
to depend solely upon memory, I have been frequently struck with 
the comparative facility with which the character and rubstance 
of morning discourses can be recalled, as distinguished ft* -n those 
delivered by the same preachers on the evenings of the sam, days. 
It is an evidence of the uniformity of plan and purpose which dis- 
tinguishes the English preachers. Physiologically, the fact might 
perhaps be made to support some curious theories, were this the 
place to prosecute the inquiry. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 245 

arguments, and could appreciate the additional aids 
furnished by learning and science. He would not 
introduce his erudition where it might prove an 
impediment, rather than an auxiliary, to the great 
work which lay near his heart ; neither would he 
conceal it where there was a possibility of its pro- 
moting the cause of religion and truth. In this 
he copied the model for all Christian ministers — 
the great apostle to the Gentiles — whose vast ac- 
quirements in Jewish literature rarely appeared, 
except in the richness of his exhibitions of gospel 
privileges. His learning constituted the deep and 
broad foundation of that pillar which, in the person 
of the apostle, was set for the defense of the truth, 
and not the ornament of its capital ; ministering to 
its strength, rather than to its decoration. 

In his style or method of preaching Dr. Clarke 
greatly differed from most of his brethren. His 
was preaching, as distinguished on the one hand 
from mere sermonizing, altogether too popular in 
the present day ; and on the other hand from mere 
exposition, in which so few excel, and in which 
none can excel without close and critical study of 
the Holy Scriptures. An occasional hearer, unless 
more than ordinarily intelligent and attentive, would 
perhaps think him negligent of plan or outline, as 
he rarely announced his divisions and subdivisions. 
But the entire plan existed in his own mind, and 
sometimes, at the conclusion of a discourse, he 
would recapitulate the main points, so as to show 
the harmony of all he had said. And the ob- 



246 SKETCHES OF W^ESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

servant hearer would note, that through the whole 
discourse the plan was unfolded by degrees in the 
execution of all the parts — an aim was apparent 
all the way through. As Mr. Everett observes : 
" In cases where order was the least perceptible, 
the fine flow of thought and of feeling in which he 
indulged was invariably taking within its vast and 
sweeping motion whatever of the useful came in 
its way in its course to the ocean of eternity ; 
whither he was always, after due preparation here, 
conducting his hearers. Numerous as might be 
the windings of an argument through which he 
conducted his auditors, it was still, like the same 
stream, working out its own natural bed amidst the 
mountains and over the plains, coming, as it were, 
from the heights of the understanding, and finally 
settling down into the heart, in fixed and steady 
purpose.' ' The common-place plan of " three 
heads, and a conclusion," was his aversion. There 
was the warmth of life in every discourse he de- 
livered. The whole Bible was his book, and what- 
ever text he might select, the light of the volume 
beamed through it. His favorite method was to 
take up some broad, general truths — to dwell upon 
the harmony of divine revelation, and the fullness 
of the divine economy of grace — and then to mete 
them out to his hearers in all their adaptation to 
human necessities, and the Christian's comfort. 

It must not be supposed that he neglected pre- 
vious preparation, over and above the great stores 
which were accumulated in his extensive reading. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 247 

His sermons were carefully studied, but more in 
the thoughts than in the words ; the phraseology, 
and the extent of range to be taken, depended upon 
the influence which he might receive from on high.* 
His action was not in any way remarkable ; it was 
natural, at times not peculiarly graceful, but ge- 
nerally appropriate, and rarely otherwise than 
chaste. His voice was strong and clear, rather 
monotonous in the more argumentative portions 
of his sermon, but capable of very effective out- 
breaks toward the close. 

In personal character few men have exhibited 
more that was lovely and of good report than Dr. 
Clarke. Benevolence and magnanimity were his 
prominent characteristics. His kindness of heart 
displayed itself not less in the minor courtesies of 
social life than in the fulfillment of more important 

* The following will afford a key to the manner in which Dr. 
Clarke often preached ; and there can be little wonder that the 
word from his lips was accompanied with the demonstration of the 
Spirit and with power. His daughter had requested him to repeat 
a sermon he had preached some years before, from Daniel ii, 31-35, 
to which he replied that he had not even a note of the sermon. 
His daughter expressed her surprise that he could preach a sermon, 
of that character, involving the most minute particulars of the ge- 
ographical position of empires, their political and chronological 
events, &c, without some notes ; to which he replied : — " Mary, I 
had the whole world before me as clear as noonday. I felt as if I 
was standing upon the world, not in it ; it was all spread before the 
eye of my mind ; I saw it all, and therefore could describe it all." 
On its being subjoined, " Then, father, I should imagine that you 
saw also the ' stone cut out without hands ;' " he answered with 
energy, "Yes, Mary, I felt, while I was dwelling on the power of 
God, and on his mercy as revealed in Christ for the salvation of 
man, as if I was taking hold of the pillars of eternity, and on them I 
hung the truth of God, which never can be shaken ; and his mercy which 
it declared, and which can never know an end." — Memoir. 



248 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

duties ; it was his nature, confirmed and elevated 
by the voluntary adoption of that noblest maxim, 
"Do unto others as ye would that they should do 
unto you." Many instances of this, in themselves 
perhaps trifles, but as illustrative of an important 
principle, are within the writer's knowledge, one 
of which may be mentioned here. Once, when 
preaching in a large manufacturing town in York- 
shire, and staying at the house of a wealthy mem- 
ber of the society, the preachers on the circuit, 
their families, and other friends, were invited to 
sup with him. An Englishman loves his supper, 
albeit it is the fourth meal of the day, and Me- 
thodist preachers no less than others, especially 
after preaching three times, walking perhaps six 
or eight miles, and comparatively fasting all day. 
Then the anxieties of the day are over, the mind 
relaxes from its rigid tension into grateful cheer- 
fulness, the home associations of the man, the 
husband and the father, resume their influence, 
after being kept in abeyance by the onerous sense 
of ministerial duty and responsibility, and, whether 
at home or abroad, he unbends — unharnesses, so 
to speak. In the society of English Methodist 
preachers, under such circumstances, the writer 
has spent some of the most profitable and delight- 
ful hours of his life. But to return. Among the 
edibles were roasted potatoes — a favorite method 
of cooking this vegetable across the water, where 
they have it of finer quality than we have — one 
of which a young lady, who sat next to Dr. Clarke, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 249 

cut with a knife, the cold blade of which, by con- 
densing the steam, immediately made the vege- 
table sad and watery. This caught the doctor's 
eye, and with parental kindness he spoke aside to 
the young lady : " Stay, my dear, lay that aside. 
I am an Irishman ; let me show you how to treat 
my country's fruit. As the skin is never eaten, 
you need feel no hesitation about taking a roasted 
potato in your fingers, thus," breaking one in twain, 
and pressing out the flour-like contents of the 
" jacket " upon his plate. I have often heard the 
lady say, that this was done with so much paternal 
urbanity, that the doctor's manner won from her 
an almost filial confidence and love, trifling as was 
the circumstance in itself. 

To the young he was always benignant, and 
over their peace and welfare ever watchful. This 
disposition showed itself, where it ever should be 
most manifest, in the bosom of his family, where 
he was indeed deeply beloved. Never, perhaps, 
was parent more esteemed and venerated, while 
his children found in his unvarying kindness the 
aliment and object of tenderest and most confiding 
affection. Amid his numerous engagements, and 
the eagerness with which his society was sought 
by the great and learned, home was to him the 
only earthly paradise — the haven of rest — the ark 
to which he was ever anxious to return : — 

" The spot of earth supremely blest, 
A dearer, sweeter spot, than all the rest." 

The oriental scholar and learned commentator, 



250 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

the companion of savans and of princes, was still 
more the loving husband, the tender father, the 
faithful guardian, and the cheerful, even playful, 
associate of his children. Of " sighs that speak a 
father's wo" he had but little experience, because 
he made it his first concern to rule well his own 
household ; to go in and out before his children 
as the servant and minister of Christ ; to regulate 
all his domestic intercourse with reference to its 
influence upon their highest interests ; to win their 
confidence by his own integrity, candor, and affec- 
tionate demeanor ; and in all things, by example 
and by counsel, to train them in the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord. In fine, though he could 
not impart to them saving grace, he showed them 
daily its blessed effects in his own life and conversa- 
tion ; by living as a Christian, he " lured to heaven, 
and led the way," praying often with and for his 
children, that they might follow him as he followed 
Christ. When parents thus strive in all things, 
small as well as great, for the salvation of their 
children, God is never slack concerning his promises ; 
and Dr. Clarke, long before his death, saw all his 
children walking in the commandments of the Lord. 
Indeed, those who knew not Dr. Clarke in his 
more private relations — as the head of a family, 
and as a pastor, guide, counselor, and friend — were 
ignorant of the true worth and greatness of his 
character. It was in these relations that the man 
and the Christian shone with that holiest radiance, 
that clear lustre, which none could misunderstand ; 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 251 

here his generosity and benevolence flowed in a 
constant current, unobserved and seeking not ob- 
servation. Here the hallowed principle of charity 
was inculcated — here its promptings were unos- 
tentatiously indulged. Now, in a season of national 
scarcity, when the subject of our sketch was yet 
poor in this world's goods, and his young family 
and truly Christian wife suffered in common with 
others, he might be seen at the frugal board, gath- 
ering together his little ones, " talking to them on 
the subject, showing them their starving fellow- 
creatures, who in cold, nakedness, and famine, be- 
sought relief," until their hearts were affected, and 
" each would put by a portion of its breakfast or 
supper for these distressed poor ; at its distribu- 
tion they were all present, and were thus taught 
to see and feel the blessings of self-denial in the 
happiness it produced to others." Or when far 
away on his journeys, oppressed with labors and 
sickness, making daily mention in his letters of 
those who were recipients of his bounty, and giving 
to Mrs. Clarke, his willing co-worker in all Chris- 
tian labor, such instructions as, "I know you will 
not let poor Mrs. Fox be neglected ; while she 
lives send her something, with my blessing, every 
day." From the conversation of those who knew 
him well, and from his published Memoirs and 
correspondence, such proofs of his generosity and 
Christian benevolence might be multiplied to al- 
most any extent. Let these allusions to those dis- 
tinguishing traits in the character of Dr. Clarke 



252 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

suffice, and let us next look at the same man mov- 
ing in another sphere. 

It is but too common for those who first had 
"the gospel preached to them," to imagine that 
its privileges are confined to their own class, and 
that the titled and wealthy are all unbelievers and 
wicked, and given up to work iniquity with greedi- 
ness. I strongly suspect that a good deal of un- 
charitableness of this kind will meet with its re- 
buke at the day of judgment. It is still more 
common for the poor to associate pride and haughti- 
ness of demeanor with elevated station. Dema- 
gogues and discontented men, who would be 
dissatisfied with any condition of society while 
there remained a Mordecai sitting in the gate who 
refused obeisance to them, and who for unworthy 
ends seek popular favor, foster this censorious 
spirit, and have so long united, in their denuncia- 
tions, " aristocracy " and imperious pride, that the 
unreflecting multitude deem the two inseparable 
and synonymous ; and too many good men have 
so often used .the word in this offensive sense, 
which is at variance with its original meaning, that 
they have, perhaps unintentionally, increased the 
popular uncharitableness. The true " aristocracy" 
of every nation are those who wield extensive in- 
fluence, and fill high stations, derived from parent- 
age, wisdom, piety, valor, or property. To be 
aristocratic is not necessarily to be imperious, op- 
pressive, or unapproachable. Strictly speaking, 
the reverse is the fact ; it is only those who assume 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 253 

to be aristocratic that have brought disgrace upon 
the term ; and the distinction should be borne in 
mind, if we would do justice to all men. 

Allusion has already been made to the friendship 
of the Duke of Sussex for Dr. Clarke — a friendship 
honorable alike to both parties ; because on the 
one side freely, and cordially, and openly bestowed ; 
and, on the other, enjoyed without the least dimi- 
nution of personal independence or Christian dig- 
nity. Amid the temptations and allurements of 
his high position, the Duke of Sussex preserved, 
not only an untainted moral character, but a Chris- 
tian deportment worthy of many who make higher 
and bolder profession ; while his love of learning 
and his urbanity of disposition led him to associate 
with good and learned men without distinction of 
creed or rank. He whose society was courted by 
the highest of the realm corresponded with the 
Methodist preacher, (for that office Dr. Clarke 
never laid aside,) received him familiarly at his 
own table, and returned the visits at the doctor's 
house. Indeed, I suspect there was that in the 
reverend gentleman's intercourse with his illustri- 
ous friend which plainly indicated that the visiting 
must not be all on one side ; that he would not 
dance attendance merely for the honor of the thing ; 
and that, though he affected no social equality, 
he was not inclined to forget that self-respect 
which commands respect from others, however 
superior in worldly rank and associations. Nor 
can it be doubted that the duke cheerfullv con- 



254 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

ceded this tribute to the worth of him whose 
friendship he had himself sought. For all that re- 
lates to this intercourse I am, of course, indebted 
to the " Memoir" before alluded to. An invita- 
tion had been given to the doctor by the duke, 
through his private secretary, requesting him to 
call upon him whenever he visited London, when 
he would " show him his library, and be most 
happy to make the acquaintance of a man of whose 
talents and character he had formed so exalted an 
opinion/ ' This was in February, 1822 ; in May of 
the same year the doctor was in London, preach- 
ing at the missionary anniversaries, and as in cour- 
tesy bound, wrote a note to the duke's secretary 
simply saying that he was in town, leaving the re- 
newal of the invitation perfectly optional with his 
royal highness. In the course of the same day a 
special invitation was sent for him to dine with the 
duke the next day at Kensington Palace. The 
sequel I will give in Dr. Clarke's own words : — 

" I went, and was received by his royal high- 
ness in his closet, and was led by himself through 
his library, where he showed me several curious 
things, and condescended to ask me several biblio- 
graphical questions, desiring his librarian from 
time to time to note the answers down as ' curious 
and important.' The dinner came — the company 
was select: his royal highness, Dr. Parr, the 
highest Greek scholar in Europe, Sir Anthony 
Carlisle, the Rev. T. Maurice, of the British Mu- 
seum, the honorable Gower, the honorable 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 255 

Colonel Wildman, Sir Alexander Johnstone, Lord 
Blessington, T. J. Pettigrew, Esq., and Adam 
Clarke. We sat down about seven o'clock, and 
dinner was over about half-past nine ; after which 
the tables were drawn, and all retired to the pa- 
vilion, where tea and coffee were served about 
eleven. At dinner I was pledged by his royal 
highness, Dr. Parr, Colonel Wildman, and others, 
and managed so well, having made the honorable 

Gower, who sat at the foot of the table, my 

confidant, as not to drink more than two glasses 
of wine, though the bottles went round many 
times. I wished much to get away, though the 
conversation was unique, curious, and instructive, 
fearing your mother would be uneasy respecting 
my safety. 

" I was informed I must remain till all the com- 
pany had departed, which was about twelve o'clock. 
When they were all gone, the duke sat down on 
his sofa, and beckoned me to come and sit down be- 
side him, on his right hand ; and he entered for a 
considerable time into a most familiar conversation 
with me. At last a servant in the royal livery 
came to me, saying, ' Sir, the carriage is in wait- 
ing.' I rose up, and his royal highness rose at the 
same time, took me affectionately by the hand, told 
me I must come and visit him some morning when 
he was alone, which time should be arranged be- 
tween me and his secretary ; bade me a friendly 
1 Good night ;' and I was then conducted, by the 
servant, to the door of the palace ; when, lo and 



256 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

behold, one of the royal carriages was in waiting, 
to carry a Methodist preacher, your old weather- 
beaten father, to his own lodgings." 

In November of the same year, the doctor for- 
warded to the Duke of Sussex certain portions of 
his Commentary, with a long letter descriptive of 
his design in its publication, and his labors in its 
preparation. To this the duke replied at some 
length, the whole letter being in his own hand- 
writing. In it are sentiments so worthy of a 
prince, and so illustrative of the position taken in 
my first allusion to the subject, that I cannot for- 
bear making a few extracts. After informing his 
correspondent that his " precious work is already 
carefully placed in his library," he says : — 

" It is with the Almighty alone, who knoweth 
the hearts and most inward thoughts of every one 
of his creatures, to recompense with everlasting 
grace your great exertions and activity in expound- 
ing and publishing the divine truths to the world 

at large I feel most thankful to you for 

having selected me as a witness of your diligence, 
assiduity, and perseverance, in this godlike work, 
by the presentation to me of a copy of your vo- 
luminous work — the produce of the fruits of your 
industry. This kind distinction, believe me, is not 
thrown away upon one who is either insensible to 
the compliment, or ignorant of the value of the 
gift; and most faithfully do I promise to read, 
consult, and meditate upon, your faithful, luminous, 
and elaborate explanations of the sacred book. As 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 257 

far as I have presumed to dive into, and to occupy 
myself with, the holy volumes, I feel satisfied of 
their divine origin and truth ; and that they con- 
tain likewise more matters than any one, and 
myself in particular, can ever aspire fully to under- 
stand. This belief ought, however, in no wise to 
slacken our diligence, or damp our ardor in at- 
tempting a constant research after the attainment 
of knowledge and of truth, as we may flatter our- 
selves, although unable to reach the goal, still to 
approach much nearer to its portals ; which, of 
itself, is a great blessing, as I am convinced that, 
if we only follow strictly the rules and regulations 
contained in the Scriptures for the guidance of our 
conduct in this world, we may present ourselves 
(although aware of our own unworthiness) before 
the divine throne with a confident hope of forgive- 
ness, from the knowledge we acquire therein of 
His mercy to all truly penitent sinners. 

" These objects, besides many others which seem 
to have occupied the greatest and most valuable 
part of your active life, cannot fail of being most 
interesting to the historian, the theologian, the le- 
gislator, and the philosopher : from all these details 
the mind will undoubtedly derive rich sources of 
information wherewith to make researches, and 
thence to ground deductions. To these I shall as- 
siduously apply myself when retired in my closet ; 
and, as my heart and mind improve, I shall feel my 
debt of gratitude toward you daily increasing, an 

obligation I shall ever be proud to own ; and with 

17 



258 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

which sentiment I have the pleasure to conclude, 
signing myself, dear sir, your sincerely obliged and 
truly devoted, Augustus Frederick. 

" Bognor, Dec. 24, 1822." 

On several other occasions Dr. Clarke visited the 
duke, and it is pleasant to observe the growing 
familiarity between them. The second visit was 
by special invitation to meet the Duke of Hamilton, 
and he was requested to bring his son (John W. 
Clarke) with him. This he did. So soon as they 
entered the pavilion, the host singled him out, took 
him by the hand, and introduced him to two East 
India gentlemen as his " friend, Dr. Adam Clarke, 
who would speak Persic or Arabic with any of 
them." The doctor immediately adds, (in the let- 
ter to Mrs. C, and it confirms what has been said 
about his exacting in this intercourse the respect 
and courtesy which he showed,) " I turned, and 
taking John by the arm, said, ' May it please your 
royal highness, I have the honor of presenting to 
you my eldest son;' he took him by the hand, and 
bade him welcome, and on the arrival of any new 
guest introduced both myself and our son." An- 
other visit he thus describes, and with this extract 
I pass over these interesting scenes in his life : — 

" The duke came again to me and said, * Dr. 
Clarke, do you know the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury? 7 'No, sir.' 'Come with me, and I will 
introduce you to him/ He took me by the arm, 
and led me through the crowd — we came to the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 259 

archbishop. The duke said, 'Here, my lord, I 
have the pleasure of introducing to your grace, my 
friend Dr. Adam Clarke.' I bowed, so did his 
grace, and immediately held out his hand : he said, 
1 Dr. Clarke, I am glad to see you ; I know you 
well by character, and have often received instruc- 
tion from your writings.' That over, the duke 
took me through the crowd, and introduced me to 
the Bishop of Chichester, who talked with me for 
a quarter of an hour, till up came the Bishop of 
London, who shook my hand, and inquired after 
my health. Soon after the duke took hold of my 
arm, and begged to introduce me to some of the 
foreign ministers, lords, chief functionaries, learned 
foreigners, &c. After a great many to's and/ro's, 
the duke, addressing me with great affection, said, 
(scores being all around us,) ' Dr. Clarke, I am 
very glad to see you.' His royal highness told me 
that Ram mohun Row would be here this night, 
and he would introduce me to him. I bowed : and 
then it was about twenty minutes after ten, and I 
was determined not to stay late ; I therefore slip- 
ped off, and met Ram mohun Row as I came 
down the steps ; but I passed on to look for my 
gig. When I came into the ante-room for my hat, 
one of the gentlemen in waiting came from up 
stairs, — ' Sir, the duke has been calling for you.' I 
said, ' I am just setting off.' He said, ' The duke 
has been calling twice for you.' I ran up stairs, my 
hat in my hand, and my colored handkerchief about 
my neck, and entered the large saloon : the duke 



260 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

spied me in a moment — caught me by the hand, 
led me to Ram mohun Roiv, and introduced me. 
As soon as this was over, I slipped out, and away 
went your father from a place where he had re- 
ceived the highest honor." 

The great work by which Dr. Clarke will be 
known to the latest time — his Commentary on the 
Holy Scriptures — was commenced while he was in 
the Liverpool circuit, in 1795. It was finished in 
1826, on the anniversary of his wedding-day. 
After more than thirty years' toil and anxiety it 
may well be imagined that he rejoiced with ex- 
ceeding joy at the completion of his task. His 
manner of expressing that joy was highly charac- 
teristic of our subject, who never lost an oppor- 
tunity of making his wife and children participa- 
tors of his happiness. There were other circum- 
stances connected with this event which reveal the 
noble feelings of the patriarch sire and his affection- 
ate and happy family. On the afternoon on which 
the Commentary was finished, Dr. Clarke entered 
the parlor, and without speaking to any other 
member of the family, beckoned his youngest son, 
Joseph, into the hall, and desired him to accom- 
pany him to his study. Without any suspicion of 
what revelation was about to be made, the son fol- 
lowed, and great indeed was his astonishment when 
his father pointed to his large study table, and the 
stand, cleared of their folios, &c, and nothing re- 
maining on either but his study Bible. " This, 
Joseph," said he, "is the happiest period I have 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 261 

enjoyed for many years ; I have put the last hand 
to my Comment ; I have written the last word of 
the work ; I have put away the chains that would 
remind me of my bondage, and there (pointing to 
the steps of his library ladder) have I returned 
the deep thanks of a grateful soul to the God who 
has shown me such great and continued kindness ; 
I shall now go into the parlor, tell my good news 
to the rest, and enjoy myself for the rest of the 
day."* Soon afterward, his sons, daughters, and 
sons-in-law, resolved to present him with a silver 
vase as a memorial of the completion of a work 
which they had seen him so long, laboriously, and 
anxiously prosecuting ; but the design was kept 
secret from their father. When it was to be pre- 
sented, the two eldest sons invited their parents 
and the whole family to dine with them, and after 
dinner the proposed offering, covered from the sight, 
was introduced, and placed at the head of the table. 
Dr. Clarke's eldest son then rose, and in the name 
of each and all of the family uncovered and offered 
it, with a suitable address, to their honored and 
revered father. " For a few moments," says the 
biographer, " he sat incapable of utterance ; then 
regarding them all, he rose, spread his hands over 
this token of his children's love, and pronounced 
his blessing upon them individually and collectively. 
His eldest son then filled the vessel with wine, 
which his father raised first to his own lips, then 
to those of his beloved wife, and afterward bore it 

* Life of Dr. Clarke, page 600. 



262 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

to each of the family ; he then put it down, and in 
a strain of the most heartfelt, eloquent tenderness, 
addressed his children in the name of their revered 
mother and himself in terms which they will never 
forget." Those only who knew Dr. Clarke can 
conceive how his heart would overflow on such an 
occasion. 

I should give but an imperfect sketch of this 
great man were I to omit a reference to his con- 
versational powers, which were of a high order. 
He never talked, any more than he preached, for 
display. His topics were diversified, and he was 
exceedingly happy at adapting his converse to the 
company he was in. For the young, as has been 
before intimated, he had always a rich fund of an- 
ecdote and wise counsel, illustrated by incidents in 
his own varied life ; for the poor, encouragement ; 
for the wealthy, incentives to benevolence ; and for 
all Christians, sayings seasoned with personal ex- 
perience, and a deep insight into the things of God. 
Among his literary acquaintances he was always at 
ease, as able to teach as to learn, but as willing to 
learn as to teach ; while in his family, when the 
hours of study were over and his engagements per- 
mitted his spending the evening at home, one mem- 
ber would read while he explained and commented 
for their instruction. He knew no idle hours, and 
was engaged in all places doing his Master's work, 
in the instruction and improvement of others ; and 
yet so social were his habits, so kind and pleasing 
his manners, that none wearied of his counsels, and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 263 

only knew that they had been listening to a teacher 
by the good results which, on reflection, they were 
conscious had attended his counsels. 

At the Conference of 1831, Dr. Clarke, contrary 
to his own expressed wish, was placed upon the 
list of supernumeraries; and he appears to have 
felt this keenly. Why this was done was never 
well understood by those out of the Conference. 
Whether in the fact that the doctor having shown 
a preference for a fixed and private residence, in- 
stead of occupying the house which the circuit pro- 
vided for the preacher, the Conference saw an en- 
croachment upon the itinerant system over which 
they are wisely jealous, and thought it best to close 
any avenue in that direction, I am not well informed. 
It is probable that some such feeling was at the bot- 
tom of the action of the Conference. I believe no 
other Wesleyan Methodist traveling j)reacher than 
Dr. Clarke ever, during his itinerancy, possessed a 
farm or held real estate. They are not allowed 
such a privilege, and perhaps the exception, per- 
mitted in his case for a few years, was working 
dissatisfaction among those who, having the means 
to purchase, were still required to sing with literal 
truth u No foot of land do j possesSj 

No cottage in the wilderness." 

It is certain that the doctor was by no means su- 
perannuated, as his abundant and acceptable labors 
in almost every part of the United Kingdom and in 
the Shetland Isles, subsequent to his retirement 
from the regular itinerancy, abundantly testified. 



264 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

A career of usefulness and honor was Dr. Clarke's, 
nearly half a century of which was spent in preach- 
ing the gospel. Many marveled how he could 
write so much — for his publications, in addition to 
his Commentary and his ten years' labor for the 
British government, were numerous and of a kind 
requiring much labor and research. The whole 
secret lay in his regular and prompt habits. He 
was an early riser, very systematic, never leaving 
until to-morrow what he could do to-day, and was 
never unemployed. His labors are evidence of his 
unwearied industry, for it should be remembered 
that all his learning was obtained after he entered 
upon the ministry ; and the itinerant ministry 
among the Wesleyans in his earlier days was no 
slight burden, and afforded but few advantages to 
the student. He was a self-made scholar, in spite 
of almost insurmountable disadvantages, and tri- 
umphed over obstacles which would have appalled 
any but a man of giant energies and inflexible pur- 
pose. The purity of his life was unimpe ached, 
even by rumor, and he went down to the grave as 
a ripe shock ready for the garner. His memory is 
blessed, for it is the memory of the just and good, 
and with his name will ever be associated the re- 
spect of all. No marble tablet or labored epitaph 
is required to preserve the remembrance of his 
virtues or the fame of his talents. They were 
known and read of all men, and are his everlasting 
memorial. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 265 



u He is fittest to preach that is himself most like his message, and 
comes forth not only with a handful of this seed in his hand, but 
-with store of it in his heart, the word ' dwelling richly in him.' " — 
Leighton. 

The Rev. Philip Hardcastle, father of the Wes- 
leyan minister who at present worthily bears the 
same name, was a fine athletic man, above the 
middle height, a fine specimen of the English yeo- 
man of the olden time, with a countenance full of 
intelligence, though somewhat quizzical. Of genu- 
ine wit, generally playful only, though occasionally 
sarcastic, he possessed an exuberance. Strong 
good sense marked all his conduct ; benevolence 
and Christian kindness were the rules of his daily 
life and conversation, and the fruit of his fervent 
piety. By his brethren in the gospel he was uni- 
versally beloved and respected. As a preacher, his 
ministry was eminently profitable and instructive, 
founded upon an accurate knowledge of human 
nature, and a personal, experimental acquaintance 
with the remedies for its perversities and evils. 
Although he lacked the advantages of an early 
education, he was endowed with strong intellectual 
powers ; a deep insight into the word of God and 
the economy of dime grace ; was forcible and point- 
ed in his delineations and appeals ; and thoroughly 
practical in all his news. A divine unction at- 
tended his ministrations of the word of fife. In a 



266 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

remarkable degree all men gave him their con- 
fidence. Even the ungodly respected him for his 
open and manly bearing, his independence and 
candor, and his indifference alike to smiles or 
frowns ; the former could not seduce him, nor 
could the latter intimidate him. Moreover, in his 
natural disposition, apart from the influence of di- 
vine grace, there was a generous humanity — a 
fellowship with his kind — that won the esteem and 
affection of all who knew him. In dress he dif- 
fered somewhat from his brethren, wearing usually 
a drab hat, and single-breasted black stuff surtout, 
of considerable length in the skirts, drab or gray 
breeches, w r ith gray hose and buckled shoes, alter- 
nated with top-boots when traveling. At one of 
the Conferences the old gentleman was accosted 
by one of the younger preachers, who w r as scrupu- 
lously clerical in his attire, with, " Why, father 
Hardcastle, you look like a magpie among us." 
" Yery possibly, my son," he replied ; " but a mag- 
pie is a prettier bird than a crow." The laugh 
was turned with interest upon the first speaker. 
Mr. Everett visited him upon his death-bed, when 
the dying saint's greeting was truly characteristic : 
" Well, Everett, I am glad to see you ; we have 
often met and parted : you must pray w T ith me ; 
it seems to me as if you had just dropped in for 
the last time, to wind up the watch before the 
weary wheels of life for ever stand still." 

The disease w^hich ended his life w^as angina 
pectoris, if, indeed, death in his case could be at- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 267 

tributed to any one disease simply, seeing that he 
was upward of eighty years of age. His naturally 
robust constitution, however, would justify the 
expectation that he would live to the full limit of 
human existence. For the last eight years of his 
sojourn on earth he suffered much, and toward the 
close of life his strong intellect wavered beneath 
the long-continued attack of disease. But when 
reason at intervals resumed her sway, his face 
beamed with holy and patient joy, and words of 
confidence and triumph cheered and consoled those 
who devotedly waited upon him, through his linger- 
ing exit from this life to a better. 



268 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS, 



" Days of my childhood, hail ! 
Whose gentle spirits wand'ring nere, 
Down in the visionary vale, 
Before mine eyes appear, 
Benignly pensive, beautifully pale, 
O days for ever fled, for ever dear, 
Days of my childhood, hail !" 

Montgomery. 

Thus sung one of England's finest, noblest bards, — 
J ames Montgomery ; the Montgomery* who, in the 
flower of his days, nobly suffered imprisonment 
and the blight of his earthly prospects, rather than 
be silent in the cause of freedom and independence ; 
the Montgomery, whose genius is only equaled by 
his exalted virtues and unaffected piety ; the Mont- 
gomery, who for many successive years has occu- 
pied his accustomed seat in the gallery of the 
Carver-street Methodist Chapel, in Sheffield, listen- 
ing with devout and gratified attention to the lay 
preachers who occupy that pulpit on the sabbath 
afternoon ; the Montgomery, whose silvery and 
fervid eloquence I first listened to on the missionary 
platform in that same house of God, and well re- 
member the tones of that voice which drew me, as 
the loadstone the needle, from the remotest part 
of the chapel to the very edge of the platform, 
where, oblivious of everything but the voice of the 
charmer, I hung upon his lips with rapturous de- 
light ; the Montgomery, whose generous praise has 

* As distinguished from Robert Montgomery. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 269 

cheered many a young aspirant for fame, and whose 
spontaneous commendation of some early poems 
first made me personally acquainted with that 
benevolence and kindness of heart which, among 
the poet's townsmen, is the theme of universal 
praise ; the Montgomery, who, " when the ear heard 
him, then it blessed him;" who "sits as a king" 
among his fellows, "as one that comforteth the 
mourners;" who, "when the young men see him 
they hide themselves, and the aged arise and stand 
up ;" for his long career of benevolence and virtue 
has won for him the love and reverence of all. 
Perhaps no literary man ever before so completely 
secured the affections of the wise and good, and 
the respect of all, as James Montgomery; and 
knowing partially the sufficient reasons why he was 
thus beloved, I wondered not at the testimony 
borne a few years since to his amiability and good- 
ness as related in the public papers. During his 
absence at divine worship on the Sunday evening — 
he is of the Moravian denomination — his house on 
"The Mount" was entered, and robbed of, among 
other things, a massive silver inkstand, presented 
to him by his fellow-townsmen, and bearing an 
appropriate inscription. After a few days, this, 
with I believe the other stolen articles also, was 
returned to him, with a note setting forth that had 
the thief known whose house he had entered, it 
should have been sacred from pillage ; for that, 
degraded as he had unhappily become, he could 
not injure a man whom all so justly loved for his 



270 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

goodness, and whose hallowed verse he had daily- 
heard in infancy and boyhood from the lips of a 
pious mother. 

How strangely, how rapidly, are associations 
awakened ! The name of the subject of this sketch 
brought back a tide of memories which recalled 
Montgomery's beautiful apostrophe, and that again 
revived feelings which would have utterance, and 
aroused recollections of which memory demanded 
to be disburdened before she would aid in recalling 
those earlier scenes which, in the writer's mind, 
are inseparably connected with the name of the 
Rev. Miles Martindale, under the same roof with 
whom, in " days for ever fled, for ever dear," I 
dwelt for nearly six continuous years, listening daily 
to his counsel, and submitting to his salutary dis- 
cipline. But those were boyhood's days, when 
judgment was immature, the mind incapable, per- 
haps, of just reflection and discrimination, and the 
memory lacked that capacity of retention essential 
to faithful delineation. Possibly I may confound 
events unconsciously, or may have lost my hold of 
those which would most have interested the reader, 
and at this late day (never mind how late) I may 
have to rely upon personal interest and association 
in the execution of my task, so that the reader 
must be indulgent if this sketch seems open to an 
objection said to have been made against the pub- 
lication of the sermons of the Rev. **** ******* — 
a true Christian gentleman, and an interesting and 
profitable, even an elegant preacher, nevertheless — 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 2*71 

namely, that no printer could be found whose fonts 
would furnish a sufficient number of capital Fs ; 
and, further, I may find it convenient to interweave 
with this sketch incidental notices of other persons 
as well as of circumstances, connected with the 
Wesleyan Academy at Woodhouse Grove, of which 
Mr. Martindale, for eight years, and at the time of 
his death, was house-governor. 

A portrait of our subject appeared in the August 
number of the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine for 
1820, which is a fair likeness, though taken at an 
earlier age than that at which I knew him. He 
always wore his hair parted evenly down the centre 
of the head, from the crown to the forehead, said 
hair being remarkably smooth and glossy, rather 
long, and in the later years of its wearer's life 
though not exactly silvery, yet considerably lighter 
than iron gray. His height was about five feet 
seven ;* he had considerable rotundity, though he 

* Perhaps there is nothing merely external on which the judg- 
ment of a boy is so much at fault as the comparative height of the 
larger boys and adults with whom he associates. Everyman look- 
ing back to his youth, is apt to think that " there were giants in 
those days ;" or, revisiting, after an absence of twenty years, the 
school of his boyhood, thinks the pupils dwarfish as compared with 
those of his own day. The impression is, however, erroneous, as 
a record of the average stature of the two periods would show. 
From the same universal impression, probably, arises the belief, 
equally erroneous, that our forefathers were much taller and more 
muscular, generally, than ourselves. The writer, a few years ago, 
had an opportunity of inspecting the skeleton of an ancient Briton, 
dug from a tumulus in the north of England, which, from certain 
memorials inclosed in the coffin, (said coffin being the trunk of a 
large oak-tree cut in two longitudinally, the lesser section forming 
the lid, and the other, rudely hollowed out, serving for the reception 
of the body,) was demonstrated to be upward of two thousand years 



272 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

was by no means inactive or incapable of rapid and 
vigorous motion, as the pupils of the institution 
sometimes experimentally learned. The eyes were 
small, quick in their motion, and in moments of 
excitement there was a certain redness about them 
which it was not difficult to understand. His de- 
meanor always commanded respect : as a governor 
he was considerate and kind, and was only severe 
when provoked to it by contumacy, when he made 
his authority felt, as was due to the office he sus- 
tained. With his kindness, and often pleasant 
familiarity, was mingled, however, no weak or fool- 
ish indulgence. He was conscientiously careful 
of the moral as well as the physical well-being of 
the pupils, and was faithful to every interest of the 
establishment ; was an early riser and a hard stu- 
dent, rising, to the very close of his life, at four 
o'clock in summer, and at five in winter ; and the 
knowledge of this habit preserved regularity through 
every branch of the institution. The pupils, then 
about eighty in number, now one hundred, arose 
an hour later, at five in summer and at six in win- 
ter, and after an hour's recreation entered upon 
their studies, before which time Mr. Martindale was 
sure to pass through the play-ground, on his way 
to overlook the farm, and, casting his quick eye 
over the boys, would, when it was light, detect a 
torn coat or an overt act of boyish wickedness 

old. The skeleton was black from the action of the tannin in the 
oak, but was in admirable preservation, even much of the hair re- 
maining on the skull. The height, however, was barely five feet 
ten inches, though the chest was full and well arched. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 273 

with more precision than was agreeable. His dress 
was always well suited to his station, and under- 
went little change during the six years over which 
my knowledge extends. Though not strictly cleri- 
cal, as custom ruled, it was quite as much so as 
his many secular duties would allow, and only va- 
ried from that of his brethren in that he wore gray 
or drab breeches, and, when traveling to the neigh- 
boring market of Leeds or Bradford, whence came 
our principal supplies, he ensconced his substantial 
limbs in top-boots. How vivid is the picture which 
memory recalls of the fine old man, mounted on 
quiet " Peggy, " the mare of all work, jogging along 
the graveled road through the grove, at a " Me- 
thodist preacher's trot." Altogether a sterling 
man, rigidly honest and upright, and a sincere 
Christian, was the Rev. Miles Martindale. 

I feel scarcely qualified to speak of Mr. M. as a 
preacher, as I was then, of course, too young to 
form a reliable judgment. Nor did he preach very 
frequently at the chapel of the institution. His 
daily cares were toil enough for a man of his years, 
and there were the regular preachers stationed upon 
the circuit, with then local allies, whose duty it 
was to supply the pulpits. The Rev. William O. 
Booth, now a popular itinerant, was then a local 
preacher there. The Rev. John Farrar, the mathe- 
matical and French tutor, now classical tutor in 
the Richmond Theological Institution, took a travel- 
ing preacher's share of the work ; and the Rev. 

James Brownell, now laboring acceptably in the 

18 



274 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS, 

itinerant ranks, was a tutor and a local preacher ; 
so that we were not often favored with Mr. Martin- 
dale's ministration. So far as I am competent to 
speak of him, he was a sound, instructive, but per- 
haps for young persons not a captivating preacher ; 
fond of lingering around the facts and types of the 
Old Testament as adumbrations of the greater 
glories of the New, and of exhibiting the relation 
and harmony of the former and latter dispensa- 
tions. There was a peculiarity in his style of 
preaching like that which distinguishes the Epistle 
to the Hebrews : he loved to build upon Moses 
and the prophets ; upon the wonderful God-ordained 
sacrifices and observances of that time ; and to show 
that in those mysteries were foreshadowed, and by 
those types the w^orld was prepared for, the mys- 
tery of " God manifest in the flesh," and the glory 
that should follow. Hence his illustrations were 
frequently drawn from the Old Testament, and I 
w r ell remember the frequent use which, in this re- 
lation, he made of the " cities of refuge." The 
older and more thoughtful of the pupils, and the 
congregation from the neighboring hamlets, were 
always glad to see him ascend the pulpit, from 
which it may be inferred that if he was not readily 
comprehended by the younger boys, his matter 
was both interesting and instructive to the more 
advanced and reflective. If my memory serve me 
right, his discourses were generally brief; and 
brevity, by the way, was a point on which the 
youths strongly insisted as essential to popularity. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 275 

Inside the pulpit, under the desk, and exactly 
opposite to the preacher's seat, some mischievous 
lads had carved in large letters, made more at- 
tractive by being stained with ink, the significant 
and appropriately brief admonition — be short and 
lively. Many, a time have I seen the preacher, 
itinerant or local, rise to commence the service with 
a quiet smile upon his face, and heard him give 
proof that he had read and heeded the impressive 
motto. As is too often the case, however, with 
reproofs expressed in too general terms, they for 
whom the counsel was chiefly intended often alto- 
gether disregarded it. 

Mr. Martindale was not unknown as a contribu- 
tor to sacred literature. His Biblical Dictionary, 
a work which met with a very cordial reception, 
and gave evidence of great application and ability, 
has been republished in this country. He trans- 
lated some of the tracts of Arminius, one of which, 
on the priesthood of Christ, is peculiarly nervous 
in style. He also published a very chaste trans- 
lation of Mr. Fletcher's poem on Grace and Nature. 
He was himself a poet of no mean order, as numer- 
ous fugitive pieces published in the magazines 
prove. A pure classic taste pervaded all of them. 
I am not aware that he ever published these in a 
collected form, or any larger poem ; but some three 
or four years before his death he had completed 
an epic poem, (in twelve books,) called " The 
Deluge," which I apprehend he left quite ready 
for publication, since to my knowledge it had been 



276 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

confided to the head master of the institution, (a 
man of almost unlimited learning, and of universal, 
though eccentric genius,) for embellishment with 
pictorial designs, and possibly for revision. While 
the volume was in this gentleman's hands I read, 
or heard read, many pages with entranced delight, 
and can trace my most vivid imaginings of that 
fearful destruction to the descriptions given in that 
poem. I have never heard that it was published ; 
and presume that the manuscript volume, written, 
as I well remember, in a large, bold hand, with an 
Indian-ink design of the deluge upon its title-page, 
remains in the possession of the family as a valued 
memorial of one who in all his domestic relations — 
as husband, father, counselor, and friend — must ever 
be held in affectionate and reverent remembrance. 
Allusion has been made to Mr. Martindale's 
habit of early rising, and perhaps in a manner that 
would lead the reader to suppose that the custom 
was adhered to mainly for the purpose of indulg- 
ing in literary studies or composition. Such a sup- 
position would be an injustice to the memory of a 
good man. I have heard the domestics say that, 
when they have risen earlier than was their wont, 
they have Ireard the voice of earnest prayer and 
supplication as they have silently passed his study 
door. Indeed, without such intercourse with Hea- 
ven he could but feebly have maintained the vitality 
of his religion. His gubernatorial duties were nu- 
merous, onerous, and oftentimes harassing. With 
full eighty pupils, clothed, and boarded, and lodged, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEY AN PREACHERS. 277 

at the institution, some ten or twelve domestics, a 
large house, and a considerable farm under his 
care — the whole establishment open every hour to 
the visits of such parents of the children as might 
be stationed near, or whom a chance journey might 
bring into the neighborhood, and no less so to the 
lay friends and patrons of the school — it may easily 
be seen that his duties and responsibilities were 
not light, though his excellent wife was no less 
active than himself, and his three daughters took 
part in the domestic management. The responsi- 
bility rested upon him, and he was not the man to 
shift the care and oversight from where the Con- 
ference had placed them. He was the first to rise 
in the morning, yet, save when some peculiar 
household matters detained the domestics or his 
family beyond the usual hour, he was the last to 
retire. The pupils were called into the main hall 
at half-past seven or half-past eight o'clock in the 
evening, according to the season ; and after reading 
of the Scriptures and prayer, at which the entire 
household were present, they retired to their dormi- 
tories, accompanied by Mr. M., who remained until 
all were in bed and the lights withdrawn. But 
this did not satisfy his parental care. At from ten 
o'clock to half-past ten, before finally retiring him- 
self, he came through the bed-rooms to see that 
each boy was in his own bed, and comfortably 
sleeping. 

This final visit was sometimes as necessary as it 
was kindly meant. Where there are eighty boys 



278 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

together, varying in age from eight to fourteen 
years; a strong disposition to frolic will sometimes 
show itself. In one of the dormitories were forty- 
eight beds, in another about twenty, arid in a third 
about a dozen, the counterpane and linen of each, 
by the way, always white as the driven snow. 
These all communicated, the largest being in the 
centre. During the night, as in the play-ground 
during the day, they were in the charge of a junior 
teacher and monitors. Occasionally it proved no 
easy matter to preserve order, especially on a sum- 
mer or moonlight evening, for a youth without his 
outer garments is not very easily identified ; and, al- 
though silence was enjoined, a feigned voice, or an 
attempt at ventriloquism, almost defied detection, 
especially when the " guardians of the night " had 
been lulled to sleep by half an hour's premeditated 
perfect order and silence. A wag would quietly 
slip from between his own sheets, under the bed 
of a neighbor known to be timid and strongly dis- 
posed to believe in the supernatural, and while the 
unsuspecting victim was luxuriating in the sound- 
ness of a first sleep, his tormentor would apply his 
back to the under side of the bed, and heave it up, 
first gently and then more violently, uttering groans 
of most cavernous depth the while. The sufferer's 
cry would arouse the teacher, who, with sympathy 
and ferule armed, would hie to punish the offender, 
who in his turn would flee to his own quarters only 
to find that, during his absence, his next of kin (by 
location) had made his bed " Scotch fashion," so that 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 279 

with all the power of sound linen it refused him 
shelter, and exposed him to detection and punish- 
ment. At other times, in open rebellion against 
the combined authority of tutor and monitors, some 
"tell-tale" would be made to run the gauntlet, 
which consisted in passing along the alleys between 
the double rows of beds, each occupant administer- 
ing, when the offender failed to dodge it, a heavy 
blow with his pillow, the contents of which had 
been shaken compactly into one end of the pillow- 
case. These and kindred sports would sometimes, 
from the excitement with which they were carried 
on, be unthinkingly prolonged until the time of the 
governor's "good-night" visit, and that function- 
ary would be upon us before we were aware of his 
presence. Then was the merry laugh suddenly 
exchanged for the cry of pain, or for the deep in- 
spiration of (pretended) sound sleep, with a slight 
touch of nasal music to make the deception more 
complete. Sometimes the good man, having by 
the hearing of the ear received intimation of what 
was going on, would quietly enter the rooms with 
a dark lantern, and not throwing up the shade 
until he had traced the sound to its source, would 
pounce upon one of the talkers in the middle of an 
articulation. Yet I knew a youth who, more than 
once, under such circumstances, was so sound 
asleep the moment the governor's presence became 
known, that the glare of a strong reflecting lamp 
could not wake him, though held to his eyes for 
some moments, and at most only made him slightly 



280 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

restless, as might be supposed would be the effect 
of such an application ; and when Mr. Martindale, 
after satisfying himself that said youth was really 
asleep, has, with some kind expression, consider- 
ately arranged and "tucked in " the bed's covering, 
which, in the youth's hurry to slumber, he had not 
time to gather round him, the sleeper has so petu- 
lantly murmured his indignation at the interruption 
of his pleasant dreams, that the governor has re- 
tired, perplexed beyond measure, faintly hoping 
that the next time at least he would detect the of- 
fender. Truth compels me to say, that, in that in- 
dividual instance, he never met with better success ; 
for, however loudly the youth might have been 
speaking a moment before, Mr. Martindale's ap- 
pearance had such a Mesmeric influence upon him 
that he was suddenly in so profound a sleep, toss- 
ed about so feverishly, and moaned so piteously 
when the strong light was allowed to rest too long 
upon his closed eyelids, and answered so incohe- 
rently when pertinaciously pressed with questions, 
that the governor's kindness of heart would not 
allow him to suspect the sham. 

Mr. Martindale required the senior boys in rota- 
tion to read the Scriptures aloud at morning and 
evening prayer, and devoted Wednesday and Sun- 
day evenings to the moral and relig^pus instruction 
of the boys. This public reading was at first 
rather a task to a timid youth, who saw before 
him the governor and family, the resident tutors, 
and some eighty fellow pupils — some of whom, at 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 281 

least, were ready to pounce upon the smallest error, 
and ring it in his ears ever after ; and in the trepi- 
dation of a first attempt some amusing blunders 
were made. Thus one read, " Wo unto you, scribes 
and Pharisees, for ye devour widows' houses, and 
for a prentice (pretence) make long prayers ;" an- 
other, " And the man said he was speechless ;" while 
a third made a most ludicrous blunder out of the 
following passage, by adding an apostrophic s to 
the word grandmother, and inserting a consonant 
in the next word : " When I call to remembrance 
the faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy 
grandmother Lois." Of course such mistakes were 
sometimes unavoidable, and have been made by 
older and more experienced persons even from the 
pulpit ; while the habit of reading aloud was of in- 
calculable advantage to the practitioners. 

Reference has been made to Mr. Martindale's 
custom of devoting Wednesday and Sunday even- 
ings to the moral and religious instruction of the 
pupils. It was on these occasions that he would 
most unbend, and was as a father in our midst. 
He had a good fund of anecdote, of which he made 
judicious use in illustrating the sentiments he wish- 
ed to inculcate. He would encourage us to ask 
questions, and by not enforcing too strictly the rule 
that only one boy should speak at once, excited a 
just rivalry in responding to his interrogatories. 
On Sunday evenings we were required to give the 
substance of the two sermons heard during the day, 
and as we were favored with a rather odd assort- 



282 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

ment of lay preachers, and were very apt to re- 
member just such portions of a discourse as with 
riper years and more grace we should have forgot- 
ten or overlooked, some amusing revelations were 
sometimes made. Mr. Martindale always, and 
wisely, sought to make his catechetical examina- 
tions agreeable as well as profitable, and did not 
confine us entirely to grave and sombre observa- 
tions. Few men possessed greater tact in keeping up 
attention, and exciting mental effort, on the part of 
the young, while he preserved his own dignity, and 
effected his great object of improving the heart. 
Well knowing the impossibility of putting old heads 
upon young shoulders, he would sometimes affect 
not to hear our boyish sallies, when they did not 
indicate moral obliquity ; and permitted us to point 
out, within proper limits, the defects as well as the 
excellences of a sermon — to criticise the manner 
of the preacher as well as his matter. Hence our 
Sunday evening meetings lost much of that forma- 
lity which to youth is so irksome, and became 
pleasant, family conversaziones, our instructor watch- 
ing carefully the spirit of our remarks, and affec- 
tionately warning us when our juvenile criticisms 
verged upon captiousness and mere fault-finding, 
pointing out the offensiveness of such a spirit in the 
sight of God, and its evil influence upon the heart. 
One feature, especially, of his demeanor on such 
occasions I cannot forbear to notice, believing that 
all parents would do well — and some a great deal 
better than they do at present — to walk by the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 283 

same rule, and mind the same thing. He never 
ridiculed the most puerile, or even foolish remark, 
by the youngest of us, when made in good faith, 
nor would he allow others to do so ; but with dig- 
nified kindness, and as though responding to the 
question or observation, would enlighten the child 
upon the subject in such a manner that, with- 
out being told so, he was made to feel that he 
had not sufficiently reflected before he expressed 
his ideas ; and thus a self-originated resolve to be 
more careful for the future was induced. Many 
practical infidels at the present day, enlisted under 
the popular banner of " progress," assert that to 
teach a child self-respect is the surest way to save 
him from vice and degradation, thus substituting 
human volition for that renewing grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, by which only can our children 
be delivered from the corruption of their fallen 
nature, and preserved in the paths of purity and 
peace. Such a doctrine every Christian parent 
must reject. But, on the other hand, it is most 
unwise, and on the parent's part cruel in the ex- 
treme, to meet with ridicule, or harshness, or con- 
tempt, a child's early efforts at expressing its 
thoughts, or obtaining fuller information upon sub- 
jects which are floating in its mind, and have per- 
plexed its juvenile comprehension. Often has my 
heart ached over an intelligent child thus repulsed 
from the threshold of knowledge, covered with 
shame and mortification, and paralyzed by dis- 
couragement ; and I have seen in the bewildered 



284 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

countenance, the quivering lip, and the drooping 
head, the evidences that a cruel, and perhaps fatal, 
blow had been struck at that truly important ele- 
ment of all improvement and advancement in life — 
self-reliance — and at that filial confidence which lies 
at the very foundation of filial obedience. O while 
so many are claiming for the criminal all that is 
kind, and benevolent, and tender in treatment, and 
on every hand are echoing the sentiment, w Deal 
gently with the erring/' let one voice be heard in 
behalf of the timid, gentle, confiding child of your 
affections; and let not the simple, or perchance 
foolish question, or remark, which, in the ignorance 
of childhood, it may utter, be responded to by the 
crushing burst of merriment, the cruel rebuke or 
the harsh rebuff; for each time that this occurs 
you place a barrier between that child and know- 
ledge, destroy its peace, and awaken its distrust, 
and sever one of those delicate threads of affection 
by which God, for wise and benevolent ends, has 
bound that child's heart to its parents, and upon 
which, under God's blessing, rests your only hope 
of guiding it through the snares of youth, and of 
recovering it from evil associations, should they for 
a season lure it from the rightful home of its af- 
fections and duty. 

It has been intimated that we had local preachers 
at the institution, whose talents were not of the 
highest order. Some of them, and generally those 
who had least reason, were rather proud of coming 
to "the Grove." In speaking of local preachers 



SKETCHES OF WESLEY AN PREACHERS. 285 

in this connection, I refer to those who were estab- 
lished in lay pursuits and never designed to travel, 
so that I do not include in my remarks Messrs. 
Booth and Brownell, already referred to, who have 
since entered the itinerant ministry, and are to this 
day laboring with great acceptability and useful- 
ness ; nor Mr. Farrar, who was even then counted 
as a traveling preacher. The ministry of these 
three was a treat which all highly prized, though 
Mr. Booth spoke much too rapidly for his youthful 
hearers, at least, to retain what he said. Of local 
preachers, then, we had a variety ; but, unfortu- 
nately, with the exceptions noted, they were 
nearly of uniform quality. The fact that we were 
catechised in the evening became known to the 
" local brethren ;" the modest feared, the bold and 
self-satisfied rejoiced, and, perhaps, were not at all 
displeased at the idea of being " reported." It is 
certain that some of the pupils were no less willing 
to oblige them. One of this class of preachers, 
distinguished not only by his " boldness of speech," 
for he had corresponding manners, and whose 
boldness was equaled by his ignorance of letters, 
afforded us many opportunities of proving to Mr. 
Martindale how retentive were our memories. He 
had peculiarities of style, which it was more diffi- 
cult to forget than to remember ; and to this day 
I have the liveliest recollection of the better half 
(in quantity, I mean) of a sermon which he preach- 
ed on the last Sunday of my pupilage. I would give 
it here, if I could suppose it would " tend to edi- 



286 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

fication," but of that I entertain reasonable doubts. 
His text was Titus ii, 14 ; and, perhaps, it may be 
necessary to note one peculiarity, and to repeat 
one or two of his illustrations, to explain what may 
follow. The peculiarity was the starting of a diffi- 
culty as to the meaning of the most familiar words 
or phrases, and prefacing the solution or explana- 
tion with the words, "Why, what's that?" some- 
what sharply or vociferously uttered. His intro- 
duction — and by the way the speaker rejoiced in 
a broad Yorkshire dialect, which greatly heightened 
the effect of his declamations — was a running com- 
mentary upon the preceding verses of the chapter. 
The first burst was at the ninth verse : ' ' Exhort 
servants not answering again. ' ' " ISTot answer- 
ing ageean," exclaimed the preacher ; " why, what 's 
that ? In plain words, its not being saucy. ' Not 
purloining ;' why, what 's that ? In plain words, 
it 's not tacking onny mair o' your maister's goods 
than you have occasion forT The reader will rea- 
dily comprehend that the preacher did not intend 
to set up so equivocal a standard of morality as, 
" in plain words," his definition implied. But to 
his illustrations. "'Christ gav himself.' How? 
why, by a covenant. A covenant ; why, what 's 
that ? In plain words, it 's a bargain beforehand. 
' To purify ;' why, what 's that ? In plain words, 
it 's to tak away, or extract t' impurity. T' people 
o' this country knaws mair aboot iron than onny 
other people, in onny other country, aboot onny 
other metal. Noo I '11 gi' 'ye a similitude. You 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 287 

tak a piece of iron ore to t' blacksmith, and ax him 
to mak ye a cheen, or a cruik, or what not, an 
he '11 call ye a fool, an tell ye he can't de it. But 
tak it first to t' furnish, (furnace,) and tak away 
or extract t' impurity, and ax him to de t' same 
thing wee it, and he '11 de 't at yance, if you '11 pay 
him for it." 

Now let the reader imagine eighty boys, preach- 
ers' sons too, catechised upon such a sermon, (which, 
by the way, Mr. Martindale had not heard, having 
that day been preaching in the circuit himself, and 
he was not, therefore, aware of the " enchanted 
ground " upon which he was entering,) and one, 
at least, of those boys rendered comparatively in- 
different to punitive consequences, in regard to his 
answers, from the fact that in less than seven days 
he would have left the institution. The exercises 
began with the usual question, "Well, boys, who 
preached to-day, and what was the text ?" and all 
went on very orderly and gravely for awhile, until 
the youths commenced with the introduction 
to the afternoon's discourse, and one gave the 
preacher's definition of " answering again." " Very 
good," said Mr. Martindale, with commendable 
gravity, (though those who sat nearest to him 
could detect some little effort to keep down a smile, 
and certain adult members of the family who sat 
behind him exchanged glances,) and proceeded to 
give us some proper counsel on that point. Next 
came up the definition of " purloining," at which 
the governor's features somewhat relaxed in spite 



288 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

of all effort, and the gravity of some of the family 
and domestics was upset, especially when one of 
the boys, with apparent innocence, as though he 
doubted whether he had correctly heard his school- 
fellow's report, exclaimed, " Why, what's that ?" 
Soon a murmur arose, scarcely understood, except 
that it had some reference to the youth already 
referred to as about to leave the academy, but 
gradually becoming more distinct, until at last it 

took the intellible form of, " knows the whole 

sermon, sir ;" and the youngster had accordingly to 
answer in behalf of his fellows, and give the " sub- 
stance of the discourse." Then Mr. Martindale was 
fairly overcome, and putting a hand in each vest 
pocket, (said vest enveloping a circle of no mean 
circumference,) he indulged for a few moments in 
a good-humored chuckle; and then gradually re- 
storing his audience to gravity — delighted and 
profited us for half an hour by showing how God, 
in all ages, had exercised the prerogative of select- 
ing his own agents for the spread of the gospel, 
and how, especially since the rise of Methodism, 
he had wrought great things by apparently weak 
instrumentalities ; had saved hundreds of souls by 
what the world deemed the foolishness of preach- 
ing ; and concluded with an affectionate warning 
to his " dear boys," not to despise any man's gifts, 
since that which might seem to us illiterate and 
weak, was, to hundreds of perishing souls less fa- 
vored than ourselves, and accustomed to think and 
speak in the same vein as the preacher we had 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 289 

heard, the " savor of life unto life." That was the 
last sabbath evening's address I heard from his 
lips, and the grateful and profitable recollection 
of it will remain with me, I trust, until death. 

Mr. Martindale remained for eight years at the 
important and responsible post of governor of 
Woodhouse Grove School. It will surprise no one 
that during that time calls were made upon him 
which abundantly tried not only his natural dispo- 
sition, but his Christian graces. During six years' 
experience I do not remember, amid the provoca- 
tion which the eighty-fold waywardness of the 
pupils could not fail to give, a single instance in 
which he lost a proper self-control. Severe mea- 
sures he was sometimes compelled to adopt, but 
they were ever with him a final resort, and em- 
ployed with reluctance. Anything that savored 
of deceit or falsehood, or other immorality, he was 
prompt to punish. But he was a terror only to 
evil-doers. Evidence of the kindness with which 
he governed is found in the fact that the boys uni- 
versally regretted, and even feared, the arrival of 
the annual Conference, when Mr. Martindale was 
necessarily absent from the institution for about 
three weeks. During this interval his duties de- 
volved to a considerable extent upon the head mas- 
ter, and he ruled us with a rod of iron. Petty 
laws were instituted for our regulation in the play- 
ground, hall, and dormitories, such as Mr. Martin- 
dale never permitted, and the result, notwithstand- 
ing heavy penalties, was a degree of disorder, eva- 

19 



290 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

sion, and discontent, which fortunately lasted only 
until the governor's return, when his authority, 
except in school hours, again became paramount, 
He "balanced accounts" with the pupils every 
Saturday, said settlement embracing the distribu- 
tion of the weekly pocket money allowed by the 
institution and the parents of the youngsters ; the 
examination of the monitors' lists of transgressors ; 
and the award of reprimand, fine, or corporal pun- 
ishment, as he judged the offenders deserved. 
Here Mr, M. appeared to great advantage. As 
the monitors were but boys, they would sometimes 
forget the strict impartiality which should have 
been maintained, would have matters misrepre- 
sented to them, and of course sometimes uninten- 
tionally erred in judgment. 

But Mr. Martindale required the minutest state- 
ment of every charge, heard the witnesses on both 
sides with unwearied patience, and was so impar- 
tial and merciful in his decisions, that any boy, 
who might be wrongfully charged with a breach 
of the rules, left the matter for revision of the 
court on Saturday with implicit confidence. I do 
not remember during six years that I heard a sin- 
gle complaint of unjust punishment at his hands. 

There was one particular, not hitherto adverted 
to, in which Mr. Martindale was eminently faithful 
to the trust reposed in him by his brethren — he 
was ever anxious that their sons should be at- 
tached to that denomination at whose altar their 
fathers ministered. Himself ardently loving the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 291 

doctrines and admiring the discipline of Wesleyan 
Methodism, he omitted no opportunity of exhibit- 
ing its peculiarities to those under his care, and 
fostering in their hearts a devout gratitude for its 
many advantages, and, as far as they could pro- 
mote them, a hearty co-operation in its measures 
for the good of the world. Hence we had all its 
ordinances established among us, and not unfre- 
quently were the prayers of himself and others an- 
swered by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and 
numerous conversions to God among the pupils. 
On such occasions he exercised a wise discretion in 
fostering the good work, and promoting intelligent 
piety, guarding us against professing more than 
we were perfectly conscious of experiencing, either 
of penitence or peace, spreading out before us the 
responsibilities of a Christian profession, while he 
no less fervently dwelt upon the certainty of di- 
vine assistance while we improved the grace already 
given. Of his parental, judicious counsels, at these 
times, fruit remains until now, many continuing to 
this day who then first entered the kingdom of God, 
and some being now able ministers of the New 
Testament. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Martindale took a lively in- 
terest in the efforts of the pupils to aid the cause 
of missions. The old lady personally made a col- 
lection for this purpose among them every Satur- 
day, and both she and Mr. M., and their three ex- 
cellent daughters, laid themselves oiit to make the 
annual missionary meeting such a festival as should 



292 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

be attractive to the neighborhood. At this mission- 
ary meeting pupils alone addressed the audience. 
The chairman was generally some one who had 
received his education at Woodhouse Grove ; the 
family extended invitations to the numerous gentry 
who resided within a few miles of the place ; the 
large hall was appropriately fitted up with a 
platform and et coeteras, and it was always well 
filled with a rather choice auditory. The meeting 
was held in the evening. As the eventful hour 
approached, the speakers might be seen, dressed 
with more than ordinary care, moving solitarily 
about in the playground, practicing elocution with 
amusing earnestness, and reciting their carefully- 
written addresses. These meetings were always 
productive in a pecuniary sense, rarely unprofita- 
ble in a higher sense, and the speeches generally 
were really good, without making any large al- 
lowance for the juvenility of the speakers. Some- 
times a boy's memory would fail him, and once I 
remember one of the advocates stuck very fast, 
and after two or three discouraging attempts to 
recover the u thread of his discourse," was about 
resuming his seat in blank despair, when Mrs. 
Martindale called out from the opposite end of the 
hall, " Take your speech out of your pocket, and 
read it, my lad ; it 's worth it." Prompters were 
unknown to us. On another occasion, at which 
the writer had the honor to preside, one of the 
speakers, the son of a missionary, the results of 
whose abundant labors form one of the bright- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 293 

est pages in the history of Wesleyan missions, was 
waxing surprisingly warm, and proportionally el- 
oquent in his appeals, and at length ventured upon 
violent gesticulation to give additional force to his 
sentiments. Down came one of his hands with a 
sudden blow upon the secretary's table ; the ink- 
stand leaped, the candles danced, all on the 
platform started as though moved by a galvanic 
shock, and to crown the whole, the youth had 
knocked both his ideas and his phraseology into 
utter confusion, and stood a silent participator in 
the general wonderment. The chairman did his 
best to conceal the speaker's confusion by inter- 
rupting him with one or two incidental remarks, 
and when he saw that the young gentleman had 
sufficiently recovered, requested him to proceed. 
The remainder of the speech was more temper- 
ately delivered, and it was one which would have 
done credit to riper years. 

Mr. Martindale died at the Conference of 1824, 
of cholera, while yet comparatively in his vigor. 
His last end was, what his life had prepared all to 
expect, peaceful and triumphant. Though the 
stroke was sudden, he was found waiting for the 
coming of his Lord. I believe his widow still sur- 
vives, but she must be much advanced in years. 

No man can look back with indifference upon 
the days and scenes of his youth, whether the re- 
trospect be painful or pleasing ; and m view of this 
common feeling, perhaps, I may be pardoned for 
adding to this sketch the following stanzas : — 



294 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 



A RETROSPECT OF YOUTH. 

O, bright were the days of my youth, 

As they rapidly glided away ; 
When my lie art was the mirror of truth, 

And my path was illumed by her ray ; 
When I knew not the guile of the world, 

Nor saw its enticements display'd ; 
The banner of hope was unfurl'd, 

In beauty and brightness array'd. 

And I dream'd that tins banner alone 

Should ever wave over my head ; 
That my heart should be purity's throne, 

And vice should be harmless or dead ; 
But the days of my manhood are come, 

And the dream of my youthtime is o'er ; 
Disappointment and care are my doom, 

And my trials are greater and more. 

O, bright were the scenes that appear'd, 

Illusive, alas ! though they proved ; 
And gladsome the hopes that I rear'd, 

Though they droop'd as their soil was removed ; 
If I tasted the bitter at all, 

The drop did envalue the sweet ; 
And pleasure was there at my call, 

I fear'd not — I knew not — deceit. 

And I fancied the stream of my life 

Would ever flow even and calm ; 
Untoss'd by the rapids of strife, 

Unmoved by the tide of alarm : — 
But the days of my manhood are come, 

And the dream of my youthtime is o'er ; 
Life's current is whiten'd with foam, 

And the breakers are loud in their roar. 

guide me, thou God of my sire, 
My errors in mercy forgive ; 

With wisdom and virtue inspire, 
In faith, hope, and love, let me live. 

Nor poverty give me, nor wealth, 
Lest either should lead me astray ; 

1 ask not for sickness or health, 
But, ah ! for Thy blessing I pray. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 295 



Mantel Cfjapman. 

M That he hath wondrous power of language no one denieth ; he 
useth large words and many, and withal, hath no interpreter, which 
for the unlearned's sake is pity ; yet hath his heart warm sympa- 
thies with the commonest of his kind." 

The subject of this sketch has no parallel among 
either the British or American Methodist preach- 
ers. Such a compound of peculiarities, such an 
embodiment, it might almost be said, of contrarie- 
ties, cannot be met with out of the circumference 
of his own corporealty, as he would probably ex- 
press the idea. He not only, in accordance with 
Mr. Wesley's advice, dares to be singular, but one 
is half tempted to believe glories therein. All 
the details of the man, his mental organization, 
personal presence, apparel, social habits, conversa- 
tion, and public exercises, are unique. To " sketch" 
him truthfully is difficult. To pass him by would 
be to overlook a subject of more than ordinary 
interest. 

He is probably now about forty-three years of age. 
He entered the ministry in 1826. There is little 
John Bull-ism about his personal appearance. 
The face is thin ; the complexion dark ; the eyes 
large and expressive, surrounded by a dark circle, 
and sunk deep into the head ; the hair jet black, 
hanging carelessly about his forehead, which is 
well developed. He is about five feet six or 
seven inches in height, dresses clerically, but care- 



296 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

lessly, his clothes hanging about him as though 
made for a larger man. Even his white cravat is 
tied so loosely that the throat is visible far below 
the " Eve's apple," which, as in the case of many 
public speakers, is large and prominent. His 
manners are remarkably soft and gentle, with 
peculiarities, as has been intimated, worthy of note. 
Mr. Chapman is, I believe, a native of Sheffield, 
At least from that town he emerged into notice. 
His introduction to public attention was on this 
wise : The Rev. James Everett was at the time 
stationed in Sheffield ; and, in the regular quarterly 
visitation of the classes, met that of which Mr. 
Chapman was a member. It was a week-day class ; 
and, as is customary at such times, the preacher 
generally having two or three classes to meet the 
same evening, was convened rather earlier than 
usual. There was not sufficient interval between 
the hour for meeting and the time of leaving work, 
to admit of Mr. Chapman's going home, perform- 
ing his ablutions, and changing his apparel. Rather 
than miss the means he went in his working clothes, 
his face and hands bearing evidence of the nature 
of his employment. On being questioned as to 
his spiritual state, he related his experience in 
language so much superior to what his apparent 
condition justified, that the preacher's godly jea- 
lousy was awakened, and with his counsels he 
mingled reproof and caution against vanity and self- 
conceit, and especially against indulgence in these 
under such circumstances. Keenly did Mr. Chap- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 29 1 

man feel the suspicion and reproof ; for the em- 
ployment of peculiar language was in consonance 
with the construction of his mind ; and, if not 
natural, was, at least, a habit so early formed as 
to be second only to nature in its force. His good 
sense and Christian principle, however, saved him 
from any exhibition of resentment at the time, and 
told him that he, being personally unknoAvn to Mr. 
Everett, the latter unavoidably judged by appear- 
ances, and could have administered the reproof, 
not from any personal feeling, but only from a 
sense of duty and responsibility, as one that watch- 
ed over his soul. On the following day he wrote 
to Mr. Everett, report says in two languages, Latin 
and Greek, adding a line or two in English, indi- 
cating who the writer was, and why he had thus 
written. Mr. Everett's surprise may be readily 
imagined. He promptly waited upon Mr. Chap- 
man, mutual explanations and a good understanding 
followed, and the result was, that in a very short 
time the more wealthy members of society, with, I 
believe, some Dissenters, took Mr. C. under their 
care, and rightly concluding that a young man, 
who made such progress in learning under such 
adverse circumstances, possessed more than ordi- 
nary abilities, which might be useful to the church, 
sent him to college for a short time to complete 
his education. After the expiration of that time, 
he was duly recommended for the itinerancy, and 
was, by the Conference, accepted, and appointed to 
a circuit. 



298 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

Mr. Chapman's natural disposition is exceed- 
ingly amiable and gentle. Some peculiarities attach 
to him which have tended rather to his disad- 
vantage, and for awhile exposed him to some want 
of confidence on the part of his more staid and 
matter-of-fact brethren. One peculiarity consists 
in a remarkable verbosity which early custom made 
with him a second nature, but which, with ma- 
turity of years, has considerably worn off, and the 
innate goodness of his nature and fidelity of Chris- 
tian and pastoral deportment have long since re- 
moved any prejudice which, on that score, might 
formerly exist. The confidence and esteem of the 
preachers generally are all the more freely accorded 
to him now, because it is well known that while 
often enduring rebuke from the senior ministers, 
and even kept back from such stations as his talents 
and popularity would have entitled him to, he re- 
solutely adhered to Wesleyan Methodism though 
tempting proposals were made to him from various 
other denominations. Amid all these opposing 
hinderances he has shown no resentment, though 
it is known to his more intimate friends that he 
keenly felt the misconstruction of his motives and 
character, but has fulfilled cheerfully such ap- 
pointments as were given him, performed faithfully 
every duty assigned to him, and refusing many of 
the invitations which poured in upon him from 
every quarter to preach occasional sermons out of 
his circuit, has given himself, with earnest devotion, 
to his work as a Methodist preacher. In all this 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 299 

he has been strenuous in maintaining his independ- 
ence and Christian firmness, and his personal rights, 
or those which were his in common with other 
preachers of the same standing in point of years 
in the connection. Some years ago he lost his 
wife, to whom he was attached with all the con- 
fiding ardor of his amiable and generous nature, 
and many of his early exuberances have died away 
under the chastening influence of that dispensa- 
tion. 

As a preacher I have had comparatively little 
opportunity of judging of Mr. Chapman. I heard 
him in the zenith of his fame, and was inclined to 
doubt the legitimacy of his popularity. Since then, 
I believe, his ministry has become much more 
spiritual in its character. Then his peculiarities 
were in full bloom, and his discourses were more 
calculated to astonish than profit. At all times 
he has employed a redundancy of words. Perhaps 
never man possessed such a voluminous vocabulary. 
It was inexplicable where he found such words 
and so multitudinous. His language often pre- 
sented beautiful and dazzling collocations — pas- 
sages of powerful and dazzling grandeur. But too 
often they bewildered rather than instructed the 
hearer. Like an avalanche, they were overwhelm- 
ing. The audience listened in mute wonderment 
to the progress of the crushing mass — gazed, 
almost with breathless awe, upon its gigantic and 
impetuous leaps, but were too much paralyzed to 
admit a single idea beyond the vague consciousness 



300 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

of the rapid, resistless progress of the descending 
mass. 

His mode of commencement, too, took the hearer 
by surprise. The text would be announced in a 
comparatively quiet tone, but the first sentence of 
the discourse would be uttered in the highest pitch 
of a voice whose shrill, startling tones, came upon 
you like a thunder clap, and reverberated in the 
remotest corner of the most capacious building, 
gradually falling to a more agreeable key as the 
long sentence, burdened with ponderous words, 
approached its conclusion. Each new sentence 
was struck upon the same high key again to de- 
scend to a lower note toward its close. The in- 
troduction concluded, the preacher announced the 
entire outline of his sermon, the main and subdivi- 
sions with all their minor topics and inferences. Of 
that form or syllabus the audience heard no more, 
so far as phraseology was concerned. Each branch 
was taken up seriatim and discussed, the only guide 
by which the people could track the preacher, or 
at any given time detect his whereabouts, being 
their recollection of the outline, and a pause be- 
tween each division, longer or shorter, as it might 
be a major or a minor. The discourse was, in 
fact, a series of essays, preceded by a table of con- 
tents, unexceptionable in its sentiments and doc- 
trines. But such fruit as was fit for the sustenance 
of the people was wrapped up in such excess of 
foliage that it was not easy for the " simple souls " 
to lay their hands upon it, appropriate it to their 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 301 

own use, and ''feed upon it in their hearts with 
thanksgiving. " This, I repeat, was some years 
since. All seem to admit that more recently, 
while still retaining his wondrous power of lan- 
guage, he frames his discourses upon more accept- 
able models and is more deservedly popular than 
at any former time, all his sermons being saturated 
with the truth as it is in Jesus, and consequently 
more spiritually advantageous to his hearers, while 
his unutterable gentleness and meekness, and his 
eminent Christian purity, have won for him the 
undisguised esteem and respect of all. 



302 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHEBS. 



jfrcmris 21. \3)tst 

M He cannot flatter and speak fair, 
Smile in men's faces, smooth, deceive, and coy." 

" A man whom storms can never make 
Meanly complain ; nor can a flattering gale 
Make him talk proudly." 

The subject of this sketch was educated at Wood- 
house Grove School, whence, and from Kingswood, 
have come some of the brightest ornaments of the 
Wesley an ministry at the present day. At the 
Conference of 1822 he entered upon the itinerancy, 
and was appointed to the Lynn and Swaffham cir- 
cuit. It was one of those commonly called hard 
circuits, and Mr. West's " seasoning' ' for the itin- 
erancy was somewhat severe ; he contracted the 
prevailing disease of that part of the country — ague 
and low fever — from the effects of which he did not 
recover for some time. At the ensuing Confer- 
ence he was removed to Cambridge, an improve- 
ment in the matter of climate, though a slight one 
in the main, as many of the country places were in 
the same flat, marshy district. Here his superin- 
tendent was the Rev. John Smedley, a compara- 
tively young man, who had just returned from a 
mission station. Some surprise was felt, and per- 
haps some anxiety, that two men so young, and 
comparatively inexperienced in the practical ad- 
ministration of Methodism, should be appointed to 
a station in which Methodism was exposed to so 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 303 

much contumely and unfriendly oversight. They, 
however, felt their responsibility, and mutually re- 
solved to be cordial co-workers in the ministry. 
They labored together rather as brothers and 
equals than with reference to their relative official 
position, and the following Conference showed its 
approval and continued confidence by reappointing 
them to the same circuit. At first, the collegians, 
emboldened by the youth of the two preachers, 
were disposed to annoy and intimidate them, occa- 
sionally venturing so far as to attempt the inter- 
ruption of divine worship, but soon finding to their 
cost that Mr. West was not the man to allow any 
one to "despise his youth,'' they prudently resolv- 
ed to let the " Methodist parsons " alone. 

At the Conference of 1825 Mr. West was ap- 
pointed to the Hampstead circuit, and preached 
occasionally in the London chapels. His ministra- 
tions in the great city attracted considerable atten- 
tion, and brought him under the notice of the more 
influential members of the Conference. The fol- 
lowing year he was received into full connection, 
and stationed in the third London circuit, where he 
labored with much acceptance. He is not favored 
with an imposing " presence," a sonorous voice, or 
any of the physical elements of a popular preacher ; 
yet amid the many great men, of various denomi- 
nations, who occupied the London pulpits, he was 
highly esteemed as a minister, whom intellectual 
men might hear with pleasure, and even aged 
Christians with profit. His acceptability lay in the 



304 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

clearness with which he perceived and expounded 
the truth, and the effect of his preaching was a 
proof of the power of words fitly chosen. The 
first time he preached in Great Queen-street Chapel 
was as a supply for the Rev. Richard Watson, who 
was prevented by sudden indisposition from occu- 
pying the pulpit. The edifice was crowded, many 
members of the House of Commons and several 
noblemen of distinction being present ; and in a 
prominent part of the gallery were a couple of re- 
porters, dispatched from the "Pulpit" office to 
secure Mr. Watson's sermon. Great was the dis- 
appointment, when "some young man from the 
Mission-house" (as was supposed) ascended the 
pulpit; and the reporters, who had experienced 
great difficulty in squeezing into a front pew, ex- 
changed glances, as much as to say, "Well, we 
have had our labor for our pains this time." As 
the preacher unfolded his text — " The ivord is nigh 
thee, that is the word of faith ivhich we preach," (fee. 
— the attention of the congregation became riveted, 
the reporters busily plied their pencils, and before 
the conclusion of the sermon one gentleman, over- 
come by his feelings, and forgetting, for a moment, 
the sacredness of the place, exclaimed, " Hear, 
hear," as I learn from a number of the "Pulpit" 
now lying before me, in which a report of the dis- 
course appears with unusually eulogistic editorial 
remarks. 

As a theologian, Mr. West has few superiors in 
the Wesleyan connection. It has been said of 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 305 

him, that he "unites the solid divinity of the old 
school with the ease and eloquence of the modern ;" 
and the remark is just. He is an ardent admirer 
of Manton, and Howe, and Baxter, and Jeremy- 
Taylor, and is especially a student of Wesley. He 
is an extensive reader, and possesses a large and 
valuable library, from which every work not of 
sterling value is rigidly excluded. He is an invet- 
erate foe of "light literature," as the phrase runs, 
though few men can better enjoy a really clever 
satire, or a piece of quiet humor ; has a keen relish 
for Butler's Analogy, and considers Pearson on 
the Creed about the third book in creation, the 
Bible being first, and Mr. Wesley's works second.* 
With all Mr. West's admitted excellence as a 
preacher, he is not exactly popular, as that word 
is popularly used. He lacks imagination. He 
rarely achieves any bursts of overpowering elo- 
quence. His style is nervous rather than capti- 
vating. He commands attention, not by rhetorical 
flourishes, but by the clearness of his views, and 
the logical force of his arguments. His language 
is purely Saxon. He convinces his hearers, and 
lays hold upon their judgments more than upon 
their passions. Yet his preaching is not merely 
intellectual : there is nothing of coldness about it. 

* I humbly conceive he is not far wrong in his estimate of Pear- 
son. When once the somewhat peculiar and antiquated style of 
the author is mastered, and that is no very difficult task, the book is 
truly marrow and fatness. A close study of it would improve and 
enrich any man's ministry, who had not before dived into its 
treasury of thought and argument. 

20 



306 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

The gospel, from his lips, is a "life-giving word;" 
delivered with energy as well as with earnestness, 
and coming home to the hearts of men. Yet, con- 
sidering the large and constantly increasing con- 
gregations which he draws in every circuit to 
which he is appointed, he is comparatively seldom 
called to preach "occasional" sermons, to the sur- 
prise of many, who, sitting regularly under his 
ministry, place upon it a very high estimate. The 
truth is, that he not only does not possess the 
elements of general popularity, but does possess 
certain qualities which rather militate against it. 
He is a firm believer in the total depravity of man, 
and entertains a firm persuasion that even regene- 
rate men do not sufficiently examine themselves, 
their motives and affections. Under this impres- 
sion, and as a watchman on the walls of Zion, he 
has become, in an eminent degree, a searching, 
probing, practical preacher. Few men have so inti- 
mate an acquaintance with the human heart, and 
can so fairly uncover, in its labyrinthine retreats, 
the great principle of self. He loves to expose the 
presence of this master idol, and for this purpose 
is constantly seizing upon and analyzing the vari- 
ous forms of sin and infidelity of heart with which 
it is incorporated. But this, while it gives great 
value and power to his " stated ministry," rather 
detracts from his suitability for occasional services. 
There are other reasons why Mr. West is not 
extensively employed to preach sermons in behalf 
of and involving collections for specific objects, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 307 

such as missions, chapel trusts, Sunday schools, 
&c, &c. One of these reasons is found in his per- 
sonal disinclination to that peculiar duty, now so 
often expressed that it has become pretty gene- 
rally known. This disinclination arises, probably, 
from physical causes — a constitutional tempera- 
ment, which renders any service to which extra 
responsibility attaches exceedingly hazardous to 
his health, not very robust and liable to serious 
interruptions at the best. With Mr. West, preach- 
ing is no light or easy work. He is constantly 
aiming at something whereunto he has not yet 
attained. The best sermon he preached this year 
he would be out of love with next. The reply of 
Constable to Archdeacon Fisher when asked his 
opinion of a sermon he had heard a little too often, 
" I always did like that sermon" could not pro- 
perly be made to the subject of this sketch ; for 
though, perhaps, by following him from circuit to 
circuit, one might hear the same text preached 
from a second time, the sermon would most likely 
be entirely remodeled, and certainly improved. 
Those who are satisfied with their own mental 
labors, or their results, are not likely ever to arrive 
at permanent eminence. Intellectual self-compla- 
cency is conclusive evidence of a little mind. The 
men who have attained enduring fame in literature, 
or in any branch of science, have reached that goal, 
not by placid contemplation of their first successes, 
but by adopting a principle incidentally taught, 
like many other weighty and important lessons, in 



308 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

the sacred writings — " leaving the things that are 
behind, and pressing on toward those which are 
before. " And who can doubt that this is not only 
the best policy, but the imperative duty, of those 
who are appointed to the " ministry of reconcilia- 
tion ?" He who, having constructed a sufficient 
number of sermons for any possible contingency, 
thereupon sits down contented, and exclaims, " Now 
I am full — now I am rich" — cannot possibly have 
imbibed that spirit of self-sacrifice and self-denying 
labor, which is the true glory of the minister of the 
New Testament — the indubitable siom that he is 
called by the Spirit to negotiate with sinners, if 
haply by any means he may bring them to God. 

Mr. West is never satisfied with his execution of 
ministerial duties, and upon every occasion of more 
than ordinary importance enters the pulpit under 
an oppressive sense of responsibility. On such oc- 
casions an attentive observer would probably notice 
slight indications of anxiety in the preacher's coun- 
tenance, the lines of thought deepened and ex- 
tended, and a peculiar paleness overspreading the 
face. When the last two lines of the hymn have 
been given out, the preacher will probably sit down 
and bury his face in his handkerchief, as though 
struggling with powerful emotions ; and an inspira- 
tion deep, yet suppressed, will escape him, showing 
that he is seeking relief in prayer. The singing 
ceases — and the congregation, reseated, preserve 
profound silence, for it is well known that the 
preacher's voice is not loud ; but it is clear, and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 309 

his articulation distinct, so that, even when he com- 
mences, it can be heard in the remotest part of the 
largest chapel if the congregation is silent and atten- 
tive. As he rises, he passes his hand slowly and hea- 
vily across his forehead, and, with some deliberation, 
announces his text, which is almost sure to be a 
branch, or the conclusion, of an argument, or to 
embody some great principle, for he has an aver- 
sion to what are called " accommodation" sermons, 
or mere inferential preaching. The introduction leads 
to the main subject by a natural and easy gradation, 
the speaker's manner being simply earnest, as though 
engaged in serious conversation with each of his 
hearers — unfolding and opening the truth, and ap- 
proaching the sentiment of his text, as a botanist 
would unfold a flower when explaining it to an 
intelligent pupil. Having by this process awakened 
the interest of his congregation, he reveals his plan, 
and now gives to his intellect fuller play ; assumes 
gradually a more independent attitude toward his 
hearers, until, almost without being aware of the 
change, you perceive that he is preaching to those 
with whom, a short time since, he seemed only in 
familiar converse. Now the right hand is brought 
into action, that being his principal and almost only 
gesture, — he becomes animated — then impassioned, 
and at length vehement. But it reminds you of 
the " vehement desire," spoken of by the poet, 
rather than of mere excitement — it is the vehe- 
mence of the ambassador impressed with the im- 
portance of his message, and the necessity of the 



310 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

immediate acceptance, on the part of his hearers, 
of the terms he offers. As he draws nearer the 
close of his discourse his physical energy is severely 
taxed, and you almost wonder that so frail a frame 
should be capable of such great and continuous 
efforts, (for Mr. West rarely concludes his discourse 
within an hour, or an hour and a quarter, on Sun- 
day evenings.) The physical is entirely subservient 
to the mental ; the preacher laboring, struggling 
almost, with the vastness of his theme, and striving 
to secure the judgments as well as convince the 
consciences of his hearers. There is no rant — in- 
deed his utterance, during the application of his 
sermon, is slower than in the former portions, and 
he seems to trust for success rather to a series of 
well-studied and deliberate blows with the " ham- 
mer of the word" than to a coup-de-main. He 
seems laboring, as time and strength are nearly 
run out, to compress the force of fifty words into 
one, and to hurl that with resistless force at the 
door of the sinner's heart, crashing and breaking 
down every barrier to the entrance of the truth ; 
while the absorbed attention of the congregation 
testifies to the power of his appeals. 

Mr. West's preaching is eminently spiritual and 
experimental. His week evening and Sunday 
morning discourses are emphatically rich, for that 
is the most appropriate word by which their qua- 
lity can be described, and it is a term repeatedly 
applied to them. He is not " ignorant of Satan's 
devices," and is skillful in guarding the people of 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 311 

God against his open or more covert attacks. It 
is greatly to his credit, that, from the earliest days 
of his ministry to the present, while he is a highly 
intellectual preacher, and of the modern school, the 
oldest and most pious members of every congrega- 
tion, to which he has statedly ministered, have 
been his warm admirers, while the poor especially 
have eagerly attended upon his preaching. We 
mention this to correct a common error, which sup- 
poses that an intellectual ministry is incompatible 
with a Christ- exalting and thoroughly experimental 
preaching ; and that, especially, it is not calculated 
to feed the souls of the poor and illiterate — that it 
is neither acceptable nor profitable to them. The 
supposed incompatibility of the two is a grievous 
mistake, as numerous instances have proved ; and 
the latter supposition is not only equally erroneous, 
but is an insult to the intelligence of that numer- 
ous class of Christians whose path God hath ap- 
pointed in the poorer and more laborious walks of 
life. I have heard ministers, whose sole aim has 
appeared to be to demean the God-devised eco- 
nomy of human redemption, the revealed truth of 
Infinite Wisdom — or who, at least, have preferred 
to use tliG I2°st vulgar and earth-born illustrations 
and arguments while preaching tne " glorious gos- 
pel of the blessed God" — professing to despise an 
elegance or refinement of language or thought, and 
reducing the sublimities of the gospel to their own 
narrow views, instead of presenting them to the 
people in all their lofty spirituality and captivating 



312 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

beauty, that their hearers may aspire to wake up 
after God's image and likeness. Men are to be 
elevated as well as saved by the gospel — to be 
made to realize that they are sentient, immortal 
beings, who are to be fitted here for association 
and converse hereafter with angels and with God ; 
and we cannot think that this is to be accomplished 
by unstudied sermons, interlarded with hackneyed 
jokes and clap-trap vulgarisms, which excite the 
laugh of the ignorant, but the merited contempt of 
the well informed. One is sometimes constrained 
to wonder, while listening to preachers of this class, 
whether they would preach in the same strain, if 
they had timely notice that the Son of God, in the 
majesty of his visible presence and awful glory, 
would stand at their right hand, and the recording 
angel take notes of their discourses. Surely they 
find no warrant for " their peculiar style of preach- 
ing " in the example of the apostle Paul, or of the 
"great Teacher" himself, of whom ministers may 
truly and reverently say, " He hath left us an ex- 
ample that we should follow his steps." 

Mr. West does " the work of the ministry" out 
of the pulpit as well as in it. Not so much as a 
pastor, visiting from house to house ; in that re- 
spect he has suppy;—.^ though when affliction has 
entered a family he is always ready to visit and 
sympathize with them. But he has a sphere of 
pastoral duty in which he is exceedingly useful, 
and which is in very few instances attended to as 
it ought to be — the oversight and instruction of 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 313 

young people. It is the custom with many of the 
English Wesleyan preachers to have a meeting of 
all the young people, whose parents are either 
members or hearers, every Saturday afternoon, in 
the body of the chapel, when they are catechized, 
and counseled, and prayed with ; and any who, not 
being members of the society, appear to be under 
serious impressions, are gently led into the fold of 
Christ. The work is praiseworthy, requiring more 
care, and study, and tact, than at first sight might 
seem necessary, but which, when efficiently per- 
formed, is of incalculable benefit to the young peo- 
ple themselves, and secures to the church the con- 
tinued accession of stable members, who, being in- 
telligently grounded in the faith and discipline, re- 
main as pillars in God's house, and perpetuate its 
blessings to future generations. How many young 
people are lost to Methodism, and, what is un- 
speakably more disastrous, lost to the church of 
Christ, for lack of this pastoral care and oversight ! 
Sunday schools do a great and important work, 
but they relieve neither the parent nor the pastor 
from responsibility in this matter. Young people 
can readily appreciate the difference between the 
routine of religious instruction in a sabbath school, 
and that less formal counsel and direction which 
spring from parental or pastoral solicitude. Avail- 
ing himself of this intuitive perception in youthful 
minds, Mr. West willingly co-operates in any move- 
ment of the kind. But he also assumes, in every 
circuit, a still higher duty toward the young men 



314 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

of the society. These he forms into one or more 
classes, as their numbers may render expedient, 
and carefully instructs them in the things which 
promote man's highest interests. The more intel- 
ligent, and those whose opportunities for acquiring 
information have been liberal, he generally forms 
into one large class, meeting them once a week, or 
fortnightly, and instructing them in moral philoso- 
phy and theology. He has wrought much and 
permanent good in this way. At Leeds, and Man- 
chester, and Halifax, are a " cloud of witnesses " to 
the utility of his plans — men of intelligence and in- 
fluence in the church, to whose pursuits he first 
gave a bias worthy of Christians, and who, master- 
ing the first principles of morals and theological 
science under his judicious counsels, have continued 
to increase "in knowledge and in all judgment." 
A class in Manchester read through with him — 
giving proof as they proceeded that they under- 
stood what they read — Paley's Works, Butler's 
Analogy, and the Epistles to the Romans and 
Hebrews. It will be evident to every one familiar 
with study, that the effect of such a course of read- 
ing must be of the most healthful and invigorating 
character, while the incidental knowledge obtained 
would be of vast utility in all future reading. 
Some of these meetings were held at five o'clock 
in the morning, and others in the evening. 

The gentleman of whom we write does not shine 
much as a platform speaker, unless it be in an 
opening speech. As a general rule he lacks ima- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 315 

gination, fire, impetuosity, and the gift of declama- 
tion, which are important qualifications for a plat- 
form speaker. He is too didactic. Nevertheless, 
I have heard him make several good missionary 
speeches ; one I remember, a highly finished and 
masterly production, on the sublimity of the mis- 
sionary enterprise as contrasted with all other 
things which men are accustomed to call sublime. 
But there is a sphere of connectional labor in 
which he especially shines. He is an excellent 
committee man, and has a wonderful aptitude for 
business. He is shrewd, cool, and far-sighted, and 
can see a defect in a prudential scheme as quickly 
as he can detect a fallacy in an argument. He is 
yearly placed upon several of the standing commit- 
tees of the Conference, upon whom devolve much 
of the general business of the connection between 
the annual sessions of that body. In the Minutes 
for 1847 his name appears as one of the general 
book committee ; as general secretary of the gen- 
eral chapel fund, which office he has held many 
years ; as one of the committee of distribution for 
that fund ; as re-appointed secretary of the chapel 
relief centenary fund, and ex officio one of its mem- 
bers, in which capacity he has rendered most es- 
sential service to the connection ; as member of the 
chapel-building committee ; of the local committee 
for the management of the northern branch of the 
Wesleyan Theological Institution ; as one of several 
specially appointed to meet the education commit- 
tee prior to the next Conference ; and as member 



316 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

of a special committee on the state of the connec- 
tional funds. 

He is known as the author of several sermons 
and tracts ; of a brief Memoir of Jonathan Saville, 
which has been reprinted in this country, and has 
passed to a third edition in England ; and of a veiy 
interesting and admirable Memoir of Mrs. Gibson, 
which has also reached a third edition. 

Mr. West must be now between forty-five and 
fifty years of age. He is about five feet seven 
inches in height, of spare frame, intellectual coun- 
tenance, complexion inclining to sallow, forehead 
finely developed and surmounted by thin, but by 
no means scanty, locks of jet black, glossy hair. 
The expression of the face is full of character, in 
repose inclining to sternness, but when animated 
decidedly pleasing. The eye is a striking feature, 
large, full, and very clear; not fiery or sparkling, 
nor even quick in its motions, but remarkable for its 
searching power. The gentleman is guiltless of 
whiskers, which gives to him a younger appear- 
ance than he is entitled to. The lackadaisical por- 
trait published in the Wesleyan Methodist Maga- 
zine some years ago, with the name of Mr. West 
underneath it, is a burlesque. A more faithful 
likeness is given in Duval's painting of the Cen- 
tenary meeting in Manchester, engravings of which 
have reached this country, but that does not do 
him justice, for it makes the features — the entire 
head — too large and heavy. 



SKETCHES OP WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 31 7 



tDUltmn BaxDSon. 

" A man resolved and steady to his trust. 
Inflexible to ill and obstinately just." — Watts. 

" Sloth, the nurse of vices, 
And rust of action, is a stranger to you." 

The Wesleyan Methodists, more than any other de- 
nomination, make systematic use of lay preachers. 
Many of these are men of superior talents, and of 
great usefulness ; some of them have attained to 
extensive and almost universal popularity, even 
beyond the precincts of the Methodist Church, not- 
withstanding they have fixed residences, and are 
engaged in secular avocations. Mr. Dawson was 
one of these. Like the early apostles, he "la- 
bored, working with his own hands, " and was de- 
pendent upon his daily toil for the bread which 
perisheth. Yet he labored diligently, and with 
extraordinary acceptance and success in the min- 
istry of the word of reconciliation. The demand 
for Mr. Dawson's public services was very great, 
and whatever he could accomplish, with a due 
regard to his temporal duties, from which he 
did not consider that his call released him, he 
was ever willing to perform ; and wdth his ad- 
mirable system of economy of time — in which re- 
spect he resembled, in a remarkable degree, the 
founder of Methodism — he was able to accomplish 
about a hundred journeys every year. His labors 
were confined principally, but not exclusively by 



318 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

any means, to the northern and western counties 
of England, where, in the teeming city and quiet 
village, in cathedral -like chapels and in barns, and 
in the open air, Mr. Dawson, alias " Billy Daw- 
son," alias "The Yorkshire Farmer," zealously 
preached the glorious gospel of the blessed God, 
and was instrumental in making hundreds wise 
unto salvation. 

I first heard Mr. Dawson from the pulpit in the 
year 1828. His apparel and demeanor struck me 
as unclerical. True, he wore a black coat and 
vest, and a white neck-cloth, an article of dress to 
which English clergymen, of all denominations, 
rigidly adhere ; but his lower extremities were 
encased in a pair of drab breeches, and he wore 
what are technically called " top-boots," such as 
are, or were at that time, universally worn in 
England by substantial farmers as a part of their 
Sunday or market-day attire. He crossed the 
floor of the chapel, on his way to the pulpit, with 
a rolling gait, as though he were traversing a 
ploughed field, with a hand in each pocket of his 
"drabs," half- whistling, half -humming the air of a 
good old Methodist tune. Of this he was appa- 
rently unconscious, for his eyes were turned down- 
ward in a reverie, and he seemed shut in from all 
surrounding objects. In all my subsequent know- 
ledge of Mr. Dawson, I never saw a repetition of 
the mood ; nevertheless, a slight prejudice was 
excited, in the mind of at least one in the congre- 
gation, which his peculiar style of prayer was not 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 319 

calculated to remove. No one who knew him 
would doubt that his was the sincere prayer of the 
heart ; that he approached the throne of divine 
grace with a full conviction of the solemnity of the 
employment ; that he personally realized the obli- 
gation of the creature to the Creator — the depen- 
dence of the suppliant upon the goodness and 
mercy of God ; and that he felt the yearning 
of the saint for communion with the Saviour. 
Still there was undeniably something in the man- 
ner of his approach to God in public prayer, which 
bore the appearance of irreverence, and was offen- 
sive to good taste. This, however, was only in 
the manner of the petitioner ; it was but one of 
those channels through which his eccentric genius 
meandered, and it is not improbable that a consci- 
entious effort to restrain its eccentricities made 
them more apparent, — just as the excessive curb- 
ing of a high-mettled horse only ruins its paces 
and destroys the beauty of its action. 

The writer, while subsequently resident at Leeds, 
in Yorkshire, had frequent opportunities of hearing 
Mr. Dawson preach, and of observing him in the 
almost daily routine of private life. No farmer at- 
tending the Leeds market had a higher reputation 
for commercial integrity than Mr. Dawson. His 
" word was ever as good as his bond ;" whether 
he bought or sold, his representations were never 
doubted. Even worldly men regarded him as one 
who was " inflexible to ill, and obstinately just." 
Perhaps this is the best place to say, that, although 



320 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

a bachelor, Mr. Dawson had others dependent upon 
him for support, especially a nephew, who was in- 
competent to provide for himself. For the sake 
of this young man, he refused more than one open- 
ing in life congenial to his tastes, and promising 
great social and pecuniary advantages. Moreover, 
at one time the farm he tenanted was understood 
to be a losing concern ; and he was, for a long 
season, compelled to make great exertions, and 
exercise a rigid economy, to preserve his honor 
untainted before the world. Offers of pecuniary 
assistance were liberally made to him by the few 
friends who were aware of his trials, and who well 
knew his high principles ; but his independent 
spirit declined the proffered aid, and prompted him 
to rely upon his own energies. Amid all this com- 
parative adversity, he continued the zealous pro- 
secution of his ministry, preaching generally twice, 
sometimes three times, on the sabbath, without fee 
or reward. Not a sixpence did he ever receive 
beyond his traveling expenses ; and when from any 
unforeseen contingency the collection has been 
smaller than was anticipated, he evinced the great- 
est pain, at leaving, to receiving even these. His 
ministerial labors were eminently disinterested. 

Circumstances led to a personal acquaintance 
with Mr. Dawson ; and as the writer's place of 
business was near the corn-market, Mr. Dawson 
would generally call in for five minutes' chat. It 
was characteristic of the man, that if, on entering, 
he saw that I was occupied with others, he would 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 321 

immediately retire, merely greeting me by a dart 
of his eye, for that idea best conveys the peculiar, 
rapid, concentrated flash of meaning, which was 
ever and anon emitted from that window of his 
soul. Knowing the value of time, and how un- 
profitable were interruptions to a man engaged in 
business, he did unto others as he would they 
should do unto him, and was the last man in the 
world of whom his friends could complain that he 
trenched upon their time or interrupted them in 
their business avocations. In frequent journeyings 
between Leeds and Manchester we also often met, 
and many were the pleasant conversations I had 
with him in those " good old days" of stage-coach 
traveling. He was an agreeable companion, and 
where he could converse without restraint, would 
add greatly to the interest of his remarks by the 
narration of various incidents connected with his 
pulpit services. Once, as we were passing through 
one of the numerous villages thickly scattered in 
the manufacturing districts around Huddersfield 
and Dewsbury, he pointed out the Wesley an 
Chapel, and related a circumstance connected with 
it, which, as it aptly illustrates the manner and 
effects of his preaching, may be properly repeated 
here. 

Mr. Dawson was delivering a discourse pecu- 
liarly suited to his genius ; one that will be long 
remembered in many towns and villages of Eng- 
land. It was generally known to be one of his 
favorite sermons, and passed under the title of 

21 



322 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

" Death on the pale horse." As the reader will 
suppose, it was founded upon Revelation vi, *7, 8. 
It was a discourse of a startling and impressive 
character. In bold and striking imagery, in power- 
ful, thrilling, irresistible appeal, it was unsurpassed 
by any sermon I have ever listened to. When the 
preacher was happy in its delivery, the congrega- 
tion seemed to suspend their very breathing in the 
intensity of their attention, and, in the pauses of the 
preacher's voice, a long and deep inspiration was 
resorted to as a relief. On the occasion referred 
to, Mr. Dawson was indulging in that peculiarly 
vivid imagery, which was at the basis of his popu- 
larity, and exclaimed, " ' Come and see !' the sinner 
is in the broad road to ruin — every step takes him 
nearer to hell and further from heaven. Onward, 
onward he is going — death and hell are after him 
— quickly, untiringly, they pursue him — with swift 
but noiseless hoof the pale horse and his paler 
rider are tracking the godless wretch. See ! see ! 
they are getting nearer to him — they are over- 
taking him !" At this moment the stillness of the 
congregation was so complete, that the ticking of 
the clock could be distinctly heard in every part 
of the chapel. Upon this, with a facility peculiarly 
his own, he promptly seized, and without seeming 
interruption. Leaning over the pulpit in the attitude 
of attention, and fixing his keen eye upon those 
who sat immediately before him, he continued, in 
an almost supernatural whisper, " Hark ! hark ! — 
that swift rider is coming, and judgment is follow- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 323 

ing him. That is his untiring footstep ! Hark!" — 
and then imitating, for a moment or two, the beat 
of the pendulum, he exclaimed in the highest pitch 
of his voice, " Lord ! save the sinner ; save him ! 
Death is upon him, and hell follows. See, the bony 
arm is raised ! The fatal dart is poised ! my 
God ! save him — save him — for if death strikes 
him he falls, and hell receives him, and as he 
falls, he shrieks, ' Lost ! lost ! lost ! Time lost ! 
sabbaths lost ! means lost ! soul lost ! heaven lost ! 
all lost, and lost for ever !' ' The effect was so 
overwhelming, that two of the congregation fainted, 
and it required all the preacher's tact and self- 
command to ride through the storm which his 
own vivid imagination and powerful appeal had 
aroused. 

Perhaps somewhat apocryphal, yet generally re- 
ceived as true, is a story of his preaching at Pud- 
sey, a village inhabited by woolen cloth weavers, 
some five or six miles from Leeds, from the history 
of David slaying Goliah. He was indulging freely 
in the pictorial representation of which he was so 
perfect a master. Personating David, he had struck 
down the boasting Philistine, and, stepping back in 
the pulpit, he cast his eye downward and com- 
menced a strain of irony, which had the twofold 
effect of rebuking every one that exalted himself 
against the Lord, and of adding force to the gra- 
phic picture he had already given of the conflict. 
So powerfully did the speaker depict the conquer- 
or's emotion, so rapidly and continuously did he 



324 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

heap taunt upon taunt on his prostrate foe, that 
the congregation seemed to lose sight of the actual 
state of things in the ideal, and waited in breath- 
less suspense for the catastrophe. Some in the 
gallery, in the intensity of the excitement, leaned 
forward, as though they expected to see, upon the 
floor of the pulpit, the prostrate giant with the 
stripling's foot upon his breast ; and one person, 
carried away by his feelings, and unable longer to 
bear the suspense, exclaimed, in the broad dialect 
of the county, " Off with his head, Billy" This 
interruption moved Mr. Dawson for a moment from 
his propriety, otherwise it would scarcely have 
been noticed by the congregation, so oblivious were 
they of outward things in their rapt attention to 
the preacher. I have no doubt of the truth of 
the anecdote, having myself seen and felt similar 
excitement under the same sermon ; and have a 
strong impression also that Mr. Dawson acknow- 
ledged its truth in my hearing, coupled with the 
remark that he ever after refused applications to 
preach at Pudsey, for prudential reasons. He 
feared that his vivid fancy would recall the cir- 
cumstance, with such concomitants as would dis- 
turb his gravity. 

Such was the command which Mr. Dawson held 
over his congregation when in his happiest mood, 
that instances of equal excitement were not rare, 
though they did not equally result in such marked 
demonstration. His sermons, though sometimes 
crude, always presented bold, original, startling, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 325 

and oftentimes beautiful ideas. The impression 
made upon the hearer was, that the preacher was 
more indebted to the vigor of his genius than to 
the extent of his reading, and that all his matter 
was hewn out of the quarry of his own mind. He 
was an extemporaneous, and it might be added, to 
a great extent, an impromptu preacher, though a 
new thought, or even a felicitous expression seized 
upon during the delivery of a discourse, was almost 
sure to be incorporated in the same sermon on a 
future occasion. It was amusing, to one familiar 
with the art of public speaking, to observe how 
perseveringly he would sometimes chase a new 
idea, started under the inspiration of the moment, 
or suggested by some collocation of words, or other 
accidental circumstance. Uttering several sen- 
tences of the most common-place character, so as 
to leave his mind free for the pursuit, he would 
struggle after the idea which, perhaps as yet 
"without form and void," gleamed before him. 
For a few brief moments those who did not know 
him, or who did not surmise his purpose, would 
be distressed at his seeming embarrassment, and 
be apprehensive of a " break down/' when suddenly 
making a vigorous spring, he would seize the ob- 
ject of his pursuit, his eye flashing with triumph, 
and rapidly molding the truant thought into the 
most forcible form of expression, would make it 
flash upon the congregation in a perfect blaze of 
light. This peculiarity was sometimes indulged in 
during public prayer. I remember an instance 



326 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

which will fully illustrate my meaning. Mr. Daw- 
son was acknowledging the divine goodness, and 
quoted the passage, " Thou hast crowned my head 
with loving kindness and tender mercies." His 
imagination took fire at the metaphor, and present- 
ed before him a regal coronet, studded with nu- 
merous gems, having a centre -stone of surpassing 
magnitude, brilliancy, and value. Consentaneously 
this became the "crown" of " loving kindness and 
tender mercies." The countless brilliants repre- 
sented the blessings of Providence and grace, and 
the centre-stone, the " priceless gem of salvation." 
To express this as he wished was more difficult 
than to conceive it; and several feeble sentences 
were uttered before this "crown" was shown to 
the people. But when, at length, it was exhibited 
in all its radiant glory, with its centre-gem of 
purest lustre, the " deep crimsonhne " of which was 
caught up and reflected in a thousand lights by 
the precious stones which clustered around it, the 
"saints of the Most High shouted aloud for joy." 
There was great inequality in Mr. Dawson's 
preaching, and when he failed, it was generally by 
going a step beyond the sublime. Mr. Everett men- 
tions some instances. I could enumerate others. 
One in particular just occurs to me. A few years 
before his death he was somewhat heavy and bulky 
in appearance, and wore a dark brown wig, which 
he was in the habit of frequently adjusting with 
both his hands. He was preaching on a sabbath 
evening to a crowded congregation in Brunswick 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 327 

Chapel, Leeds. The interior of the chapel is oval, 
the organ and orchestra being behind the pulpit, 
which is a capacious mahogany structure, isolated, 
standing a little forward from the orchestra, and is 
ascended by a circular stair. Mr. Dawson was 
preaching from, " Behold I stand at the door and 
knock" and after a powerful delineation of the 
methods by which the Holy Spirit appeals to the 
heart of the sinner with overtures of mercy, and 
the rejection of those offers by the impenitent, he 
approached the climax of his subject — that the 
Holy Ghost might at that hour be " knocking at 
the door for the last time." Fearful was the 
picture which he drew of the condition of the man 
who was " in such a case." Then suddenly paus- 
ing, and personating the third person in the Trinity, 
he rapped with his knuckles first upon the open, 
then upon the closed Bible, the significance of 
which the reader will appreciate, accompanying 
each with an appeal in the first person for admis- 
sion to the sinner's heart. Assuming that the 
sinner was immovable in his refusal, and still pre- 
serving the personation, Mr. Dawson turned away 
from the front of the pulpit, and walked slowly 
toward the door, (through which he passed to the 
furthest verge of the platform, at the top of the 
stairs,) repeating, " Because I have called," &c, and 
kindred passages and sentiments in atone of passion- 
ate regret. Had it not been for the intense solemnity 
and feeling which his previous remarks had inspired, 
the effect would have been most disastrous, and 



328 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS, 

even with those advantages, it was impossible to 
prevent the rising of an unpleasant feeling as the 
hearer contemplated the personation of the divine 
Spirit, and that, sooth to say, by one whose un- 
ethereal form threw a visible burlesque upon the 
movement. And then, too, there was the difficulty 
of returning' after a last appeal, which could only 
be accomplished at the expense of consistency. 

Errors of this sort, however, were but the ex- 
ceptions to Mr. Dawson's general success ; and 
even these were redeemed by the unmistakeable 
evidences which his ministry always afforded of 
the presence and power of God. Nor was the 
wondrous effect of his preaching transient only. 
While he might, as a preacher, be justly called a 
revivalist, yet his ministry was not so much re- 
markable for awakening a general excitement as it 
was for producing individual conviction. His bold 
and vivid imagery alarmed the conscience ; and 
then by some sudden stroke of genius he would 
set before the sinner his transgression in so strong 
a light, that the poor rebel felt his peril and knew 
no rest until he had made his peace with God. 

Injustice would be done to Mr. Dawson, were I 
to omit saying, that on all doctrinal points, as held 
by the Wesleyan Methodists, he was not only 
perfectly orthodox, but always declared those 
doctrines with great clearness and force. I shall 
ever remember a sermon which he preached in 
Irwell-street Chapel, Salford, (Manchester,) on the 
atonement of Christ, in which that cardinal truth 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 329 

in all its fullness and sufficiency was set forth with 
remarkable perspicuity. And this was not done 
by labored and protracted argument, but by the 
flashes of light which his genius poured upon the 
subject, and which at once both enlightened and 
convinced the understanding of the hearer. 

In the evening of the same day I heard from 
him a sermon which was equally a favorable spe- 
cimen of his powerful appeals to sinners. He re- 
presented the sinner as forging a chain, link by 
link, as he committed sin after sin ; in vain his 
friends warned him that this chain was to be 
heated red hot and wrapped round his body, and 
to be kept there day after day, week after week, 
month after month ; he still went on forging it, 
and taking pleasure in so doing. Raising his 
voice, and increasing it in volume with every sen- 
tence, Mr. Dawson exclaimed, " Sinner, thou art 
that man ! and at the day of judgment that chain 
shall be drawn, at white heat, out of the flames of 
hell, and shall be wrapped round, and round, and 
round, (raising his voice at each repetition,) thy 
writhing body ; burning into thy wretched soul 
until long before the coil is exhausted its weight 
shall sink thee under the surface of that burning 
lake for ever and for ever !" Again, he repre- 
sented the sinner as made fast to one end of a 
chain coiled round a windlass placed over the 
mouth of a deep pit, with a heavy weight attached 
to the other end. The windlass was set in mo- 
tion, " the weight increasing in velocity on its way 



330 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

downward, the man drawing nearer and nearer to 
the mouth of the pit — the weight becoming still 
more and more rapid in its motion — the preacher 
shouting out as the head seemed to be whirling 
with the machinery — \ He is going ! — he is going ! 
— there is no stopping him : — he is nearer — 
nearer — the final step is taken — he dashes over, 
disappears — and the splash startles the very- 
devils !' " Never shall I forget the thrill of horror 
that pervaded the congregation ; the effect, which 
cannot be conceived without a knowledge of the 
man and his manner of delivering such passages, 
was beyond anything I ever before experienced. 
The imagery, which of course was more fully 
wrought out, was terrific. The "weight " was the 
accumulated transgressions of the sinner; the 
"chain" the perfections of the divine character all 
harmonizing in the destruction of the impenitent ; 
and the "windlass," the constant revolution of 
time, to which " Stop" might be cried in vain. 
The reverse of the picture, and its application to 
believers, was equally effective. 

I have alluded to the difficulty of conveying a 
just idea of Mr. Dawson's manner in his most im- 
passioned moments. I have before me reports of 
two of his sermons, published in the (London) 
Pulpit, from the notes of stenographic reporters, 
employed for the purpose ; one on Gal. vi, 7, 8 : 
" Be not deceived, God is not mocked ; for whatso- 
ever" &c, &c. ; the other on Matt, xvi, 26, 27 : 
"For what is a man profited" &c. I have heard 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 331 

both sermons, and should scarcely have recog- 
nized the former in print, the reporter, perhaps 
with the best intention, having reduced the dis- 
course to what he conceived was good taste, and 
given to the world a very common- place sermon, 
with scarcely a distinguishable trait of the preacher 
about it. In the latter, which was one of Mr. 
Dawson's best sermons, the reporter has performed 
his task too literally, copying the colloquialisms 
and small talk of the sermon, but failing to com- 
municate the true sublimity which marked many 
of its passages. 

I suppose that as a preacher Mr. Dawson never 
appeared so great as when he preached the fune- 
ral sermon of the late Rev. David St oner, whom 
he loved as David loved Jonathan, and venerated 
for his piety and usefulness. As the occasion 
led him to sketch the character of his deceased 
friend, he seemed to catch the falling mantle, and, 
inspired by his theme, was led even beyond him- 
self, and rose to the highest elevation of over- 
powering eloquence. The occasion will be re- 
membered to the latest hour of the last surviving 
hearer, and the full fruit will only be gathered 
when human instrumentality shall have completed 
its mission. Many were quickened into a holier 
zeal for the salvation of their fellow-men, and the 
constantly widening influence of their increased 
devotion will be perpetuated through all time. A 
sketch of the concluding remarks on that memo- 
rable occasion may be found in Mr. Everett's Me- 



332 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

moir of Stoner, to which I must refer the reader. 
Mr. E. mentions that the preacher's inquiry, "Is 
there no young man in this congregation willing to 
take up the fallen trumpet ?" entered the soul of one 
lovely youth, Samuel Entwisle, a son of the Rev. 
Joseph Entwisle, who had for some time been un- 
der the impression that God required him to enter 
the ministry. I may add that had that young 
man's life been spared, he would have been an or- 
nament to the Wesleyan ministry. I knew him 
long before he entered upon that work, for we 
were residents for some years of my youth in the 
same town, worshiped in the same sanctuary, 
and frequently spent more or less time together. 
He long entertained the conviction that he was 
called of God to the work of the ministry, 
and was only deterred from obeying " the heavenly 
vision" by his overwhelming sense of the respon- 
sibility resting upon the ministerial character and 
office, and a fear lest he should unworthily 
discharge the duties. He was naturally, too, of a 
retiring disposition, which doubtless had its influ- 
ence in causing him to shrink from so public a vo- 
cation ; and thus from a fear of running before he 
was sent, he brought darkness upon his soul, and 
recovered his lost ground only by strong cries and 
tears in secret before the Lord. If Mr. Dawson 
wrought no other good effect than that of working- 
decision in the mind of Mr. Entwisle, his labor had 
indeed not been in vain in the Lord. This one 
fruit was strong evidence of the natural force and 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 333 

spiritual unction that attended Mr. Dawson's minis- 
try, for Mr. Entwistle, though young, was almost 
the last man to be moved by mere declamation, 
or appeal in the absence of terse and cogent ar- 
gument. 

If Mr. Dawson is to be seen in all his great- 
ness, he must be viewed in yet other aspects — as 
a platform speaker, as a member of the social cir- 
cle, and in the ordinary routine of his busy life. 
His popularity as a platform speaker equaled his 
popularity as a preacher. His speeches had each 
a distinctive topic — he seldom generalized — and 
each had its popular name. There was his " Re- 
form bill" speech, which, by the way, I do not 
remember to have heard, and only know by 
repute, which gave it a high character for 
originality and effectiveness ; and his " Railway " 
speech, for which he was most severely handled 
in the editorial columns of the Morning Herald 
newspaper, where he was charged with the 
grossest irreverence and kindred crimes. It is 
charitable to suppose that they knew not the 
man, and could not appreciate his genius, or his 
talents — that in truth they "understood neither 
what they said, nor whereof they affirmed." Mr. 
Dawson always readily seized upon any passing 
and exciting topic, and turned it to good account ; 
and when the subject of railways engrossed general 
attention he made it pay tribute to his platform 
labors. The track was the world, the train w^as 
the gospel, the chief director was Jesus Christ, and 



334 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

so forth. The speech was very popular, but it 
cannot be denied that in some points it bordered 
closely upon burlesque, and it was only by his 
skillful management that the engine was saved 
from " running off the track." Then there were 
his "Clock" speech, in which every wheel, and 
spring, and screw, was emblematical of some part 
of the missionary agency ; and the " Sower," and 
the " Telescope" speech, through which he would 
survey the world, and on entering upon each 
branch of his subject, would elevate his half- 
clenched hand to his eye, as we do when looking 
from a distance into the depths and details of a pic- 
ture, and exclaim, "And then, sir, when Hook again 
through my telescope, what do I see ?" and thus 
would enter upon the survey of each new field. 
And then there was his " Miser," and, best of all, 
his " Harvest home." That was the speech. In 
it he never failed. Upon that subject he was per- 
fectly at home. The genius of the man was en- 
riched by the experience gained from his daily oc- 
cupation. The ingenuity displayed in the con- 
struction of the speech was only equaled by the 
copious and beautiful illustrations which clustered 
around every point ; and the effect was invariably 
the diffusion of a holy joy throughout the audience, 
which not only produced a beneficial result in the 
matter of the collection, but left the savor of a 
heavenly influence upon the heart, the fruit of 
which was often seen after many days. 

Before I leave Mr. Dawson's public character, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 335 

I may just advert to his occasional introductory 
remarks on the hymns which he selected. The 
English preachers always " line " their hymns, the 
congregation singing each two lines as they are 
given out from the pulpit. The plan has some 
advantages. The congregation always stand up 
when they sing the praises of God, neither do they 
allow the choir to monopolize that delightful em- 
ployment. The minister would feel jealous over 
his people with a godly jealousy, if in any part of 
divine worship they could silently sit, and listen 
to a display of choral singing. I do not mean to 
say that the congregation always sing as heartily 
as is desirable. In seasons of spiritual apathy and 
general lukewarmness — for the extent to which the 
congregation unite in the vocal praises of God is a 
sort of barometer of their spiritual state — the 
people are apt to be equally apathetic in the mat- 
ter of public singing ; and it was on such occasions 
that Mr. Dawson would avail himself of the oppor- 
tunity presented by "lining" the hymns, to in- 
troduce some remark calculated to arouse their 
dormant affections, and excite x them to more fervent 
devotion. Thus, on one occasion, he had selected 
the hymn commencing, — 

" Jesus, thy blood and righteousness 
My beauty are, my glorious dress." 

Before giving out the last verse, he briefly ob- 
served, that he had often been struck with the 
beauty of the communion service of the Church of 
England, where the priest says, "Lift up your 



336 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

hearts," and the people respond, "We lift them 
up unto the Lord ;" the exhortation and response 
being repeated, the priest concludes with, " It is 
very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we 
should at all times and in all places give thanks 
unto thee, Lord, holy Father, almighty and ever- 
lasting God." Then suddenly glancing his eye 
around the chapel, he exclaimed, in an elevated 
tone of voice, " ' Lift up your hearts/ yea, and let 
the whole congregation repeat, ' We lift them up 
unto the Lord,' " instantly announcing, 

" Thou God of power, thou God of love, 
Let the whole world thy mercy prove ; 
Now let thy word o'er all prevail, 
Now take the spoils of death and hell." 

The power of sound was immediately quadrupled 
— the flame of devotion caught, and spread, and 
glowed during the whole of the service. 

On another occasion, after he had given out, and 
the congregation had sung, 

" True, 'tis a strait and thorny road, 
And mortal spirits tire and faint ;" 

he inquired, " Why do they tire ? Is it because 
the road is strait and thorny ? No — ■ 

' But they forget the mighty God, 
That feeds the strength of every saint.' " 

Thus, as Mr. Everett observes, on this instance, 
" gliding into the succeeding lines without suffer- 
ing the congregation to feel any interruption by 
the break, while he furnished them with a subject 
for reflection, showing them that they should ' sing 
with the understanding.' " 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 337 

In the social circle Mr. Dawson was always 
cheerful, even to playfulness, and always instructive ; 
his remarks were distinguished by much shrewd- 
ness, and were indicative of a close observation of 
men and things. He was very happy in extricating 
himself, when sometimes placed in an awkward 
position by the questionings of injudicious or 
thoughtless friends. On one occasion, being asked 
his opinion of a preacher, from whose sermons little 
could be extracted for home meditation, he 
promptly replied, " I eat what I can, but pocket 
nothing." An instance of his happy manner of 
administering reproof, and taking the scales off a 
man's eyes, occurs to me. Some one was com- 
plaining to him that he could get no good at the 
revival meetings ; that he went up into the gallery, 
and looked down upon the people, and the sight 
of so much disorder neutralized the good effects 
of the sermon. "Ah," said Mr. Dawson, "you 
mounted to the top of the house, and on looking 
down your neighbor's chimney to see what kind 
of a fire he kept, the smoke got into your eyes 
and blinded you. Had you entered the room by 
the door, and mingled with the family around the 
hearth, you would have enjoyed the benefit of the 
fire as well as they. Sir, you have got the smoke 
in your eyes." 

I have said that Mr. Dawson was a local preacher, 
though, as he himself facetiously observed, he was 
a "traveling local preacher." It may not, per- 
haps, be generally known, that in the year 1802 

22 



338 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

he was proposed by the Rev. Mr. Barber, to the 
quarterly meeting at Leeds, for the itinerancy, 
unanimously approved, accepted by the following 
conference, and his name put down for Wetherby, 
Yorkshire, in connection with Rev. Robert Pilter. 
Some circumstances, of a temporal character, which, 
he feared, would affect his aged mother's interests 
and mar her comforts, eventually induced him to 
remain at home. Within two or three years of his 
death a number of friends, in order to relieve him 
of his daily toil, and secure the full benefit of his 
services to the connection, started a project by 
which they hoped to raise a fund, the interest of 
which should support him during his life and pass 
to his nephew, in case he survived Mr. Dawson ; 
the principal to revert to the Wesleyan Missionary 
Society at the expiration of the two lives. Un- 
fortunately the managers of the project decided to 
limit each individual subscription, or any amount of 
money would have been subscribed in a few days : 
with this limitation, the scheme partially failed. 

Mr. Dawson was a bachelor. He made more 
than one " offer " of marriage when in his maturer 
years. In each case the lady selected was highly 
intellectual, and of most refined manners, and pro- 
bably the proposal was more the result of mental, 
intellectual admiration, than of any softer emotion. 
In each case, too, the lady was distinguished for 
fervent, but enlightened piety. His not proposing 
to others of lower capacity, attainments, and piety., 
was highly creditable to him. For an account of 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 339 

his sudden, but peaceful death, the reader is re- 
ferred to the published accounts. 

Of his personal appearance I have said but little. 
I cannot do better than close this sketch by adopt- 
ing Mr. Everett's portrait, for it is " very like :" 
" It was that of a man — a man in the most manly 
sense of the term. He was strong of bone, 
muscular, well-built, well-rounded, proportionate, 
standing about five feet nine inches, had hair of a 
deep auburn, and a complexion approaching the 
embrowned rather than the dark. His eye of a 
lightish gray, with a dark pupil, was round, keen, 
full of fire, and well set in the head, mounted with 
overhanging eyebrows. The face, too, was round, 
somewhat full ; the ears small, thick, and closely 
attached to the head ; a good mouth, with a some- 
what biting expression, similar to what is found in 
some of the portraits of Sir Walter Scott ; and an 
excellent forehead, covered in later life with false 
hair, ill adapted to the head, and overhanging the 
fine sinciput like an eave of thatch. The features 
might be pronounced regular, but expressive, in- 
clining to the fierce, on the eye being fixed — full 
of meaning, and conveying the impression of thought 
— that thought which is brilliant, active, and pene- 
trating, which only himself could seize, and which 
others could neither tame nor break. " 



340 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



M Then dress'd by thee, more amiably far, 
Truth the soft robe of mild persuasion wears ; 
Thou to assenting reason giv'st again 
Her own enlighten'd thoughts." — Thomson. 

The Rev. John Anderson finished his course with 
joy in 1840, having labored nearly twenty-nine 
years in the itinerancy, and being at the time of his 
decease about fifty years of age. He was a man 
of warm and sanguine temperament, of a tender, 
susceptible spirit, ardent in his friendships, fervent 
in piety, and zealously devoted to the duties of his 
sacred calling. In person he was tall, little, if any, 
less than six feet, of active frame, light complexion, 
florid countenance, with an unusual gathering of 
wrinkles about the mouth, which gave to the face 
an expression of bold daring, and almost reck- 
lessness of consequences when consciously right, 
in keeping, to a considerable degree, with the 
real character of the man. When combined with 
the smile which, when in social converse, would 
often spread over his ever- varying features — and 
especially when the face was illuminated with the 
radiance of holy joy while proclaiming the glorious 
gospel of the blessed God — the expression became 
modified into noble self-reliance, which was indeed 
a prominent feature in our subject's character. He 
was undaunted in the performance of duty, 

" Bold to take up, firm to sustain, 
The consecrated cross." 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 341 

My acquaintance with him commenced some nine 
years prior to his death, when he was superintend- 
ent of the Leeds East circuit, where he labored 
with great zeal and fervor, and proportionate ac- 
ceptability. He was then approaching the zenith 
of his popularity, to the consummation of which the 
following circumstance contributed not a little. It 
was the time when the people of England were 
universally excited upon the question of slavery, 
and a simultaneous movement was made for its 
abolition. A large meeting upon the subject was 
held in the " Cloth Hall Yard " — the area of an im- 
mense three-sided building, where the country 
manufacturers exposed their woolen cloths for sale, 
and which — the sides of the lofty building (five 
stories high) confining the sound — was admirably 
adapted for such purposes. Some of the most 
prominent clergy and laymen of the town and sur- 
rounding country were engaged in the movement, 
and many of them were speakers on this occasion. 
Lord Brougham (then Mr.) was present by special 
invitation, and I think also Mr. Thomas B. Macaulay. 
Mr. Anderson was one of the speakers. It was an 
occasion peculiarly fitted to call out all his powers. 
He always spoke with great animation — he could 
not do otherwise on any subject in which his feel- 
ings were interested — and had a voice of astonish- 
ing compass, especially when there was no impedi- 
ment to its full exertion. The spaciousness of the 
area, the immensity of the audience, and the fact 
that the meeting, being out of doors and on secular 



342 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

ground, required none of the restraints which he 
would have deemed obligatory in a place dedicated 
to divine worship, all favored our subject as a pub- 
lic speaker. Albeit few men were so enthusiasti- 
cally patriotic as he ; England was to him what 
the holy city was to the ancient Jews ; and he be- 
lieved his country's welfare and glory involved in 
the question about to be discussed. "When called 
upon by the chairman, he stepped buoyantly to the 
front of the stage, his intelligent features glowing 
with enthusiasm. Looking round upon the vast 
audience with deep feeling, he commenced, and 
continued for upward of an hour and a half, a strain 
of impassioned eloquence, argument, and declama- 
tion blended, which was listened to with unbroken, 
attentive silence, save the repeated bursts of ap- 
plause, which seemed each time to rouse the 
speaker to even greater effort. He was followed 
by Mr. Brougham, to whom until then Mr. Ander- 
son was unknown, who passed high and well-de- 
served encomiums upon the speech, and pronounced 
it the most eloquent and masterly he had heard 
upon the stirring subject which had elicited it. Of 
course this contributed to make Mr. Anderson more 
widely known and appreciated among other deno- 
minations as well as the Wesleyan Methodists. 

As a platform speaker Mr. Anderson was always 
efficient. In thought and feeling he was naturally 
impetuous, and when carried away by his strong 
emotions was sometimes rather diffuse. Of this he 
was perhaps conscious, and often in preaching was 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 843 

wont to restrain himself and labor at condensation 
and terseness. On the platform he hampered 
himself with no such shackles, but gave free utter- 
ance to his gushing feelings. He luxuriated in the 
wide range of topics which his warm heart sug- 
gested, ranging at will wherever there were flowers 
to be culled or fruits to be plucked ; dashing from 
one part of the field to another, without regard to 
"line and rule;" and throwing riches of imageiy 
around him with prodigal profusion. Here his ex- 
cursive fancy found its most exquisite enjoyment ; 
his warm, benevolent sympathies, a legitimate ob- 
ject for their fullest exercise ; and here he kindled 
fires which no waters could quench. The magni- 
tude of the object aimed at was proportioned to 
the might and compass of his ever active faith, 
which expanded as the teeming millions of his fel- 
low-men passed in review before him, and he beheld 
them as souls for whom Christ had died. Never 
will the writer forget some of his more impassioned 
outbursts while dwelling on the theme of the 
world's conversion to God through the agency of 
his church, and the glory that should follow ; with 
not an inexpressive eye in the vast audience, some 
gleaming with holy triumph, and others wet with 
tears ; and many of God's people lifting up the joy- 
impelled shout of "glory" and "hallelujah." ! 
those were missionary meetings, worthy of the 
name and object ; seasons of mingled triumph and 
hope, and earnest desire to aid in the speedy pro- 
gress and consummation of the Redeemer's con- 



344 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

quests, and productive no less of substantial gifts 
for the cause of missions than of earnest, heartfelt 
prayers for its success. ISTo need was there, on 
those occasions, of other stimulus than the warm 
glow of holy gratitude and Christian zeal caught 
from the speaker's lips. No necessity then for 
offering life-memberships at auction, or for giving 
publicity to each donation. Such proceedings 
would, as they must ever, sooner or later, 
damp the hallowed enthusiasm enkindled by the 
hearty and heartfelt addresses of the speakers. 
The people gave " what they could," without un- 
due solicitation, rivalry, or ostentation, and went 
down to their houses rejoicing that of their own 
volition they had paid tribute unto God. Or if, 
stifling their convictions of duty, they had restrain- 
ed their hands, no extraneous influence did further 
harden by its frigid touch the emotions awakened, 
or deter the people from again presenting them- 
selves when the season for the renewal of the ad- 
vocacy came round ; so that they were liable to be 
again brought under the same influence with better 
results. It cannot be denied that the large and 
yearly increasing funds, placed at the disposal of 
the Wesleyan Missionary Society, are an unanswer- 
able argument in behalf of the plan pursued by 
the British Wesleyans. If it be objected that in 
this country the people are to blame — that they 
will have it so — that they need such adventitious 
incentives to liberality in such a cause, we deny 
the imputation, and fearlessly assert that the fault 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 345 

lies elsewhere. We have heard the murmurs of 
the audience during the hour thus spent, and their 
expression of disapprobation such as we care not 
to repeat, but which evinced an alienation of inte- 
rest and affection for the cause which, if they be- 
come general, must eventually dry up the foun- 
tains of benevolence, and turn the streams of bene- 
ficence in other directions. 

But to return to Mr. Anderson. He was often 
peculiarly happy in the introduction of a verse of a 
hymn in his platform addresses, as also in his pulpit 
discourses. Some of his finest bursts of over- 
powering eloquence reached their climax in such a 
quotation, uttered with intensest feeling, leaving an 
impression which no time could efface. As a 
preacher he varied, and, though perhaps alone in 
the opinion, I always thought him most profitable 
at seasons when slightly depressed by personal in- 
disposition or mental suffering. When in the full 
buoyancy of animal spirits, his physical energies 
and impulsive nature were apt to assume the mas- 
tery over his intellectual powers, and he could not 
keep his impetuousness under control ; rather he 
seemed even to indulge it at the expense of con- 
densed and consecutive thought — as though the 
rider partook of the temper of his steed, and throw- 
ing the reins upon its neck, allowed it to leap the 
fence and course the meadows as it listed, himself 
participating in the exhilaration and the wayward- 
ness of its evolutions. At such times a man had 
need of a good memory, and must call into exer- 



346 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

cise his utmost mnemotechnic skill, in order to pre- 
serve the thread of thought. Sentence would be 
involved within sentence, parenthesis within paren- 
thesis, producing in the mind of the ordinary hearer 
something approaching to confusion, and to some 
extent diminishing the interest which the preach- 
er's eloquence and earnestness tended to awaken. 
But when there was less of this buoyancy and 
physical impetuosity, his sermons were peculiarly 
impressive and profitable, imbued with a tender- 
ness which almost imperceptibly stole over the 
minds of the audience and made them willing re- 
cipients of the truth of God. Then his discourses 
dropped fatness upon the soul. He was a sound 
divine, thoroughly impregnated with the theology 
of Wesleyan Methodism, and experimentally versed 
in the deep things of God. At such times evi- 
dences of his communion with the Holy Spirit, 
and of his own native tenderness of heart, shone 
through almost every sentence, with the additional 
charm of refined delicacy of sentiment and often 
poetic grandeur of diction. 

The following incident is related in a memoir 
of Mr. Anderson, which appeared in the Methodist 
Magazine, from the pen of his son-in-law. While 
attending the Conference of 1838, held in Bristol, 
he had to preach in one of the chapels in that city. 
Many of his brethren were present. He chose for 
his subject the prevalence of believing prayer, (a 
theme on which he loved to expatiate in private 
as well as from the pulpit,) and after having dwelt 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 34*7 

upon it at some length with great eloquence and 
holy ardor, he paused as though about to conclude. 
But so entirely were the minds of his auditory 
enchained and impressed, so carried away by the 
intensity of their feelings, that a simultaneous cry 
of " Go on " burst from all parts of the chapel ; 
and again he held up before them the " wondrous 
power of faithful prayer." 

The same depth of emotion observable in his 
preaching was often shown while he was listening 
to others. I remember one occasion, when the 
Rev. Peter Duncan, some short time after his re- 
turn from the West Indies, (where he so success- 
fully labored as a missionary until driven thence 
by the persecuting spirit of the planters,) was 
preaching in Mr. Anderson's stead, at Brunswick 
Chapel, in Leeds, the latter sitting behind him in 
the pulpit. The text was, "And without contro- 
versy, great is the mystery of godliness : God was 
manifest in the fleshy &c. The sermon was in 
every part full of the genius of the preacher, whose 
whole soul was absorbed in his theme, and whose 
glowing eloquence riveted the rapt attention of 
his audience ; Mr. Anderson himself with difficulty 
restraining his emotions as the grand subject was 
gradually unfolded. Soon the tears coursed each 
other down his cheeks, and his eyes, often lifted 
upward, told the deep feelings of his heart. But 
when Mr. Duncan took up the sentence, " Believed 
on in the world" and glanced at the progress of 
Christianity, and recounted its triumphs over 



348 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

all opposition, the congregation began to utter 
their abounding joy. Mr. Anderson could no longer 
keep silent, and shouted with deep feeling, " Glory ! 
glory ! Hallelujah !" The congregation only needed 
such a spark to make the smoldering fire burst 
into a flame ; his joyous exclamation was soon 
echoed from every part of the vast building, and 
for a moment the preacher had to pause, only, how- 
ever, to proceed with increased earnestness and 
power in the exposition of his text. 

It may here be mentioned, to Mr. Anderson's 
honor, that no petty jealousy ever interfered with 
his feelings toward his brethren. This was a fine 
trait in his character. In 1837 he was stationed 
in the Leeds West circuit, and for some time was 
pained to see so little life in the society, and such 
slow progress of the Redeemer's kingdom. Never 
did his ministry savor more of the closet, and of 
deep meditation over the sacred page ; never was 
he more zealous and abundant in labors, watering 
all with earnest and unceasing prayer, that, upon 
the people to whom he ministered, 

" The Lord would shortly pour 
All the Spirit of his love." 

In September, of the following year, the Lord of 
the harvest heard the cry, and rewarded the zeal 
of his servant. A gracious revival of religion broke 
out in the circuit. This long-prayed-for result was 
generally attributed to the labors of one of Mr. 
Anderson's colleagues, a young man whose minis- 
try has, indeed, been wonderfully blessed, in the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 349 

conviction and conversion of sinners, " from the 
beginning, even until now." The subject of our 
sketch, however, not only showed no jealousy, or 
ever in the most private circles evinced the slight- 
est sense of the injustice done to him ; but every- 
where bore spontaneous testimony to his young 
colleague's devoted zeal, ardent piety, and minis- 
terial talents and faithfulness, while, toward the 
young man himself, he acted the part of a wise 
counselor, an affectionate friend, and a tender fa- 
ther. The Rev. William M. Bunting, when preach- 
ing Mr. Anderson's funeral sermon at Liverpool, 
bore strong testimony to this phase of his character. 

No delineation of our subject as a preacher 
would be just to him that did not allude to the 
prominence he gave in all his sermons (nor less so 
in his correspondence and private conversation) to 
Christ and him crucified, and the necessity and 
efficacy of faith in his blood. " He was ' mighty 
in the Scriptures ;' he was eloquent on the great 
themes of the gospel. The fascinations of the ora- 
tor (and that he possessed these, was admitted by 
all) were mostly lost to his hearers in resistless 
sympathy with the rapt worshiper and witness of 
Christ crucified." Fervent piety was at the root 
of all his preaching — the motive for all his labors. 
He had no panting after popular favor or applause. 

I have intimated that Mr. Anderson appeared 
to great advantage upon the platform as well as 
in the pulpit. There were other sendees in which 
his soul took delight — those holy festivals common 



350 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

to all Methodists, and those peculiar to the British 
Wesley an societies. Among the former are in- 
cluded class meetings, in which he delighted to 
participate at the quarterly visitations ; love-feasts> 
in which, when he conducted them, he always 
spoke freely of his experience ; and the sacrament 
of the Lord's supper, which was to him, and those 
to whom he ministered, always a season of hallowed 
enjoyment. Few men administered that ordinance 
with such seeming cognizance of and participation in 
its true spirit and character. Among the latter 
are the old-fashioned watch-night, and the "re- 
newal of the covenant." 

This latter is held on the afternoon of the first 
Sunday in the new year, and is one of the most 
impressive means of grace known to the Wesleyan 
Church. Mr. Anderson never conducted it with- 
out evincing a high estimate of its solemn and 
almost awful character. I have been present at 
this service at various times, led by such men as 
Revs. Richard Treffry, sen., Robert Wood, Peter 
M'Owan, Francis A. West, and others, when it was 
conducted with the utmost impressiveness and 
propriety ; but our present subject had a consti- 
tutional advantage over most in that, while he 
brought to the performance of this duty equal 
dignity and solemnity, there was in his nature an 
affinity — amounting to a poetico-religious sympa- 
thy, if such an expression may be allowed — with 
the emotional grandeur of the service, which im- 
pressed into it, in an unequaled degree, a grateful, 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 351 

joyous fervor. I would fain give the reader some 
idea of the nature of this service, although deeply 
conscious that any picture will fall far short of the 
imposing original. 

It has already been said that this service is held 
on the afternoon of the first sabbath in the new 
year. Where, as in the large places, there are 
two or more town chapels, all but the principal 
one are closed at the hour for the celebration of 
this service, as also are the country chapels within 
a moderate distance, so that the members of 
society, for they alone are admitted, may, of one 
accord, and in one place, assemble to j)ay 
their vows unto the Most High, and renew then* 
Covenant with the God of Jacob. Hence the chapel 
is generally crowded to its utmost capacity. The 
preacher commences the service by giving out the 
covenant hymn, — 

" Come, let us use the grace divine, 
And all, with one accord, 
In a perpetual cov'nant join 
Ourselves to Christ the Lord ;" 

which is sung by the whole congregation, the lift- 
ing up of whose voice is as the sound of many 
waters. Prayer by one or more of the ministers 
follows ; and a brief address, pointing out the duty 
and responsibility of making a solemn covenant 
with the Almighty. The minister who conducts 
the service then apprises the people that he is 
about to read a form of covenant, (Baxter's is uni- 
versally, or at least generally, used,) and desires 
them, preparatory thereto, well to weigh and con- 



352 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

sider the nature and extent of the obligation upon 
which they are about solemnly to enter ; to this end 
he advises them to spend a few moments in silent 
meditation and prayer, and closely examine them- 
selves whether they are firmly and deliberately set 
upon this entire surrender of themselves to God. 
These are moments of deathlike stillness, of close 
searchings of heart. At their expiration, the mi- 
nister again addresses the people, and invites those 
who have well weighed the import and conse- 
quences of the solemn act, and have in their hearts 
faithfully resolved by divine grace to pay the vows 
they are about to make, and only these, to rise to 
their feet in signification of that purpose. It is an 
awful moment — that great congregation about to 
enter into a solemn covenant, each for himself, with 
the God of truth, the omnipresent, omniscient, im- 
mutable Jehovah, and their Judge ; to be his faith- 
fully, unalterably, for time and for eternity. Truly 
may it then be said, "Lo, how dreadful is this 
place. " You may almost hear the pulsation of 
the hearts of those around you. Yet with few ex- 
ceptions the vast audience slowly rise, for few will 
go to such a service that are not God's people at 
heart ; the occasion is all too awful for curiosity, or 
hypocrisy, or half heartedness, to intrude itself. 
The few who remain sitting are not less sincere 
than others, but they distrust themselves and trem- 
ble to pass the threshold of Jehovah's presence- 
chamber. With subdued voice, but with clear and 
distinct utterance, the minister reads the whole or 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 353 

principal parts of the covenant vow, until he comes 
to the words of dedication. He and the people 
then kneel ; slowly and solemnly he repeats each 
sentence, the people by their silence acquiescing ; 
then again all is still for a few moments ; the as- 
cription of praise is uttered, and the pent-up feel- 
ings of the audience find expression in sobs or gen- 
tle breathings of holy joy and thanksgiving. The 
covenant is made ; the seal of acceptance is given ; 
the Lord is in his holy temple, sometimes brooding 
over his people and infusing into their hearts 

" The speechless awe that dares not move, 
And all the silent heaven of love ;" 

sometimes consoling them with inward assurances 
of peace, and guidance, and protection ; and some- 
times sweeping over their hearts as a "rushing 
mighty wind," filling the place with his glory, and 
diffusing through every soul such an indubitable 
sense of his love and presence that the people 
shout aloud for joy. Truly the covenant service 
as held among the English Methodists is, beyond 
almost every other means of grace, a time when the 
tabernacle of God is with men, and he doth dwell 
among them and is their God.* 

* The following example of an extraordinarily gracious influence 
accompanying this service is related in the Memoir of the Rev 
James Wood : — In the beginning of the year 1788, a remarkable 
manifestation of grace and mercy was experienced at the renewal 
of the covenant. It was, indeed, a time to be remembered. " Never 
in my life," says Mr. Wood, "had I seen so much evidence of the 
divine influence, on such an occasion. After having read the ' Di- 
rections for renewing our covenant with God,' I advised the people 
seriously and deeply to consider the importance of the solemn en- 
gagement they were about to make ; and. that they might not do it 

23 



354 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS, 

In 1833 Mr. Anderson was stationed in one of 
the Manchester circuits. What was known as the 
" Warrenite disturbance " took place while he was 
there, and his spirit was sorely tried. He was in- 
trepid in the exercise of discipline and the main- 
tenance of the Wesleyan economy, although fierce- 
ly and bitterly assailed and maligned for so doing. 
His last circuit was the Liverpool North, where he 
yielded up his life, after some months of acutest 
bodily suffering, but of patient continuance in well 
doing, and finally of triumphant joy in the Holy 
Ghost, 

rashly, I proposed giving them a few moments for consideration and 
prayer. During the time of silence, (which at the most, I apprehend, 
did not exceed five minutes,) the goodness of the Lord was made 
known to nearly all present ; and I afterward heard of seven persons 
who, in that short interval, found either the pardoning or the perfect 
love of God." One eminent saint who was present, the late Miss 
Mary Unwin, thus describes her own feelings on that memorable 
occasion : — " My body could scarcely stand under the weight of glory 
that rested upon me. My spirit cried out, ' Glory be to God the 
Father! Glory be to God the Son! Glory be to God the Holy 
Ghost ! Every power of my soul united to call upon all the heavenly 
host to strike their golden harps and assist my mighty joys. My 
soul was so filled with God, and so near to heaven, as made me 
say,— 

' My soul its change shall scarcely know, 
Made perfect first in love.' 

Such a season had never been known, even by the oldest member 
of the society. The recollection of it is still delightful and refresh- 
ing to the very few who are yet alive." 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN" PREACHERS. 355 

tDUlwm M. Bunting. 

il Mild in his unassembling mien, 
Are genius, candor, meekness, seen, 
— And lips that love the truth." — Montgomery. 

The subject of this sketch has more than once 
been incidentally named in this volume. He is the 
oldest son of the Rev. Dr. Bunting, whom, how- 
ever, he does not resemble either in physical or 
mental organization. He is tall and thin, of deli- 
cate, almost sickly, appearance, and far from being 
of a robust constitution, with a fine benevolent 
countenance, a noble head, and a full massive fore- 
head, bare of hair to a considerable elevation. 
From his appearance no one would think him ca- 
pable of performing the arduous labors of a Wes- 
leyan itinerant preacher ; at times, indeed, it seems 
scarcely probable that he can survive a change of 
seasons ; and more than once he has been regarded 
as one going down to the tomb by gradual but 
certain advances. Still he labors with occasional 
interruptions, having some advantages over his 
brethren, in that he married a lady of great wealth, 
and can afford to keep his own carriage — a sort of 
one horse chaise, which affords a shelter from in- 
clement or varying weather, and is a less fatiguing 
mode of itinerating than either pedestrianism or 
equestrianism. 

Mr. Bunting uses his wealth, as a Christian should 
do, in helping the poor and needy, without osten- 



356 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

tation. It has engendered no pride or vain-glory. 
He holds it as a steward of God. Numerous 
instances might be named, illustrative of his be- 
nevolence and Christian charity, which have only 
become known through the grateful outgivings of 
those who have been recipients of his generosity 
and care. With much about him that, to a stranger, 
would seem to indicate another spirit, he delights 
to visit the widow and the fatherless in their af- 
fliction ; to sit by the bedside of the humblest 
saint, and converse, as with an equal, upon the 
things that appertain to the kingdom of God : cha- 
racter weighs with him more than circumstances ; 
and while enjoying meekly the advantages which 
wealth affords, he never assumes the exclusiveness 
or superiority which too often distinguishes those, 
even in the church of God, who are rich in this 
world's goods. " What have I that I have not 
received ?" seems to be the rule of his conduct in 
this matter. If on his journeys to or from his 
country appointments he overtakes one whom he 
knows to be a member of society, one whose good 
sense and piety will make his company agreeable 
and profitable, he will rein up his horse, take him 
into his carnage, and set him down at his humble 
door, even though it be somewhat out of his way. 
He once, in this way, overtook a good man, whom 
I knew, who was trudging home from Manchester 
to his cottage, some three miles distant, and some 
half mile out of Mr. Bunting's road, who was going 
to his residence at Cheetham Hill. " Halloo, " 



SKETCHES OF WESLEY AN PREACHERS. 35^7 

he called out, " jump in, and I '11 take you round 
home; I want to hear how you're getting on." 
The good man hesitated, and pleaded that he was 
in his working clothes, &c. "Yes," said Mr. B., 
or something to this effect, " I saw that before I 
asked you ; so am I, and the same Providence cut 
out the work for both of us. Come, jump in." 
The good man obeyed, and they were soon talking 
of Jesus, until their hearts burned within them by 
the way. And many of these little indications of 
a "right spirit" were accompanied with more 
substantial tokens of sympathy and brotherly 
love. 

These, however, are traits of Mr. William Bunt- 
ing's private character rather than his public, and 
would scarcely have been introduced here, but as 
showing what lies at the basis of, and is the rule 
of interpretation for, much of his more apparent 
and tangible characteristics, the most prominent of 
which is a lofty independence which will brook no 
shackles upon freedom of thought, speech, or con- 
duct. It cannot be said that his judgment is not 
sometimes at fault — he lacks his father's almost 
unapproachable greatness in this respect — but he is 
eminently conscientious, and what he conceives is 
right he will do at all hazards ; what he thinks 
ought to be said he will say, let who will frown or 
take umbrage. Possibly he carries his independ- 
ence too far, so that it seems to border on boldness 
or stubbornness ; but no one can help admiring his 
manly bearing, and the frank, open, honest spirit 



358 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

and fearlessness of results with which he defines and 
maintains any position which, to him, seems right 
and proper. We repeat, that sometimes he takes 
extreme views ; but we also repeat, that in those 
views he is conscientious. This no one who knows 
him for a moment doubts. Personal convenience 
or inconvenience, honor or disgrace, never enter 
into his estimate of what is to be done or undone. 
He has, I imagine, more reverence for the Estab- 
lished Church, more love for its liturgy and ob- 
servances, than his father, and holds that it was 
Mr. Wesley's design that his abridgment of the 
Church service should be used in the Wesleyan 
pulpits. While stationed in the Manchester first 
circuit, he was desirous to introduce the liturgy 
into the principal places of worship. He could 
obtain the consent of the trustees of only one chapel, 
that at Cheetham Hill, where he resided, and which 
might, in some sense, be said to be under his more 
immediate personal oversight. But even their 
consent was only partial. It was limited to an 
agreement that the church prayers might be read 
in addition to the regular service. Mr. Bunting 
thereupon announced that "when he occupied 
the pulpit, Wesleyan service (meaning the church 
prayers) would commence at a quarter before ten 
o'clock, and public service at half-past ten." And 
he continued to perform this extra duty while he 
staid in the circuit, although the attendance upon 
the "Wesleyan service" was by no means at any 
time very encouraging, but the contrary. It was 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 359 

in this connection also that he commenced wearing 
a gown. The Cheetham Hill Chapel was surround- 
ed by a large burying-ground, which, from the 
remarkable dryness of the soil, was a favorite place 
of interment. The burials, indeed, were so nu- 
merous, that the trustees found it necessary to 
have a chaplain attached to the chapel, which office 
was always held by a supernumerary preacher. 
As persons of all denominations took their friends 
there for interment, he was required to wear a 
gown while officiating at the grave. The exact 
connection between this and Mr. Bunting's adopt- 
ing the gown I cannot now recall. Some connec- 
tion between them there was, as appeared when 
the matter was debated in the Conference, as his 
case differed somewhat from that of others who 
had also put on canonicals. After considerable 
discussion the gowns were in the minority, and the 
novelty was discontinued. 

The independence which has been referred to 
has been shown in many things, and not unfre- 
quently in opinions on theology. The term is used 
advisedly, as will shortly appear. It has already 
been said that Wesley's Sermons and his Notes on 
the New Testament are the recognized standard of 
Wesleyan theology. His doctrinal views are strictly 
enforced as the doctrines of the Bible, which every 
Wesleyan preacher must honestly entertain and 
faithfully inculcate. Such doctrines as Mr. Wesley 
taught, and the Church of England also, as her 
liturgy and homilies show, Mr. Bunting, on intelli- 



360 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

gent conviction, firmly believes and preaches. But 
there is a danger, remote and slight it must be 
conceded, that the mere opinions of a man so re- 
vered as Mr. "Wesley is by his followers should 
come to have undue weight with those who so cor- 
dially and implicitly receive his doctrinal teachings 
as Scriptural. Now it has often seemed to me 
that the subject of this sketch is exceedingly jealous 
and sensitive on this point. He claims and exer- 
cises, to its utmost limits perhaps, the right of 
private judgment in such matters, and will not sub- 
stitute any man's opinions for his own. This dis- 
position has shown itself in numerous instances, 
which cannot be referred to here without explana- 
tions which would swell this sketch to an immo- 
derate length. Moreover, his mind is peculiarly 
constructed. It is philosophical, metaphysical. 
He can see distinctions and shades of difference 
where others cannot ; no point made by others is 
so perfect that he cannot reduce it — make it still 
finer and more minute. The finest hair-line of de- 
finition or thought he can split, and probably that 
yet again, and his indulgence of this faculty some- 
times leads him to niceties of distinctions or con- 
clusions which few but himself can see, but which, 
with their issues, are to him so apparent and im- 
portant, that he earnestly presses them, often so 
much as to cause himself to be misapprehended 
by those whose perceptions are less clear and 
minute, and whose minds are of a less delicate 
structure. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 361 

Another feature of Mr. Bunting's character may 
be mentioned in this connection; his almost un- 
equaled catholicity of spirit. For this he has 
always been remarkable, and he has been at no 
little pains to cultivate this in the societies over 
which he has been appointed. In the manner of 
doing this, his judgment, as in other things, has 
perhaps sometimes been at fault. In rebuking 
what he has conceived to be sectarian in Methodism, 
he has sometimes unintentionally given " aid and 
comfort" to its enemies. Yet, it may be safely 
affirmed that Wesleyan Methodism, in all its broad, 
essential, radical distinctions, has no more ardent 
admirer or stanch friend than he ; none that would 
more promptly buckle on his armor to its rescue, 
and more heroicly defend it even to death when 
assailed, taking for his motto, — 

" Long- be our fathers' temple ours \ 

Wo to the hand by which it falls ! 
A thousand spirits watch its towers, 

A cloud of angels guard its walls." 

Yet his catholicity will have utterance both of 
word and deed. His Christian sympathies and 
affections cannot be confined within denominational 
limits, and he has always numbered among his per- 
sonal friends distinguished ornaments, both clerical 
and lay, of other religious bodies. His intimate 
friendship with Rev. Dr. M'All, and the relation 
in which they stood to each other when that elo- 
quent divine preached his last sermon, have already 
been spoken of. Numerous other instances might 



362 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

be mentioned, but sufficient evidence that I have 
not over-estimated this shining glory of his charac- 
ter is found in the readiness, even eagerness, with 
which he entered into the spirit and views of the 
Evangelical Alliance. 

As a preacher, he has always ranked deservedly 
very high, although he has two serious defects. 
The one is that he greatly lacks in physical energy, 
and the other that he always preaches much too 
long. He has been known to detain a congrega- 
tion from half-past ten until nearly two o'clock, or 
from six o'clock until half-past nine or ten in the 
evening. It is no small compliment to a man's 
talents that he can detain a congregation thus, 
whatever may be said of his judgment. These of 
course have been special occasions. But he sel- 
dom concludes the forenoon sermon before one, and 
the evening service is equally prolonged. This is a 
serious inconvenience in his regular appointments ; 
of course on special occasions the people are more 
prepared for such detention, and the devout, in- 
telligent Christian is always amply repaid. Highly 
intellectual as are Mr. Bunting's discourses, they 
are also full of practical, experimental Christianity ; 
and when, under the influence of a gale from heaven, 
he expatiates upon the economy of salvation, the 
copiousness of divine mercy, the privileges of be- 
lievers, and the glory to be revealed, it is as 
though an angel spake unto the people. Then in- 
deed there were times of refreshing from the 
presence of the Lord. The tall, attenuated form 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 363 

of the speaker, seeming inspired with new life ; the 
mild eye, glowing with a hidden fire ; the soft, 
mellow, mellifluous voice ; the well-stored mind ; 
the warm heart ; and the chaste imagination ; all 
contribute to cast a spell over the delighted audi- 
ence which no lapse of time can break. The 
speaker's voice must cease ere the charm can be 
dispelled, and even long after that its rich tones 
and richer thoughts seem to delight the ear and 
dwell in the heart. 

Mr. Bunting is a poet of no mean order. He 
has contributed to the Wesleyan Methodist Maga- 
zine at different times, over the signature of 
" Alec," some as exquisite gems of sacred fugitive 
poetry as were ever penned, and is also the author 
of a beautiful hymn on renewing the covenant, on 
page 581 of our collection. I am not aware that 
his poems have ever been published in a collected 
form. They would make a handsome volume in 
point of number ; in the matters of tone, poetic 
feeling, and fervent, enlightened piety, they would 
have a value beyond price. 



364 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



" He is not witty, nor learned, nor eloquent, but holy ; a cha- 
racter that Hermogines never dreamed of ; and therefore he could 
give no precepts thereof." — Herberts Country Pastor. 

The Rev. George Morley was the immediate 
predecessor of the Rev. Dr. Bunting in the office 
of senior missionary secretary, and fulfilled the 
onerous duties of that position with high satisfac- 
tion to the connection at large, and to the mission- 
aries, who ever found in him a judicious counsel- 
or and a faithful and sympathizing friend. In 
1830 he was elected president of the Conference, 
in which office he won much esteem. At the 
Conference of 1831 he was appointed governor of 
the preachers' sons' academy, at Woodhouse 
Grove, where the writer's acquaintance with him 
first commenced. For the duties of that office he 
was eminently qualified, mingling in his deport- 
ment urbanity and dignity, kindness and discipline, 
in just and admirable proportions. The institu- 
tion prospered greatly under his administration, 
his excellent wife making almost a sacrifice of her- 
self for its welfare, and her daughter cordially co- 
operating with both in their ceaseless devotion to 
its interests. Mr. Morley died while holding this 
important post in the Wesleyan connection. 

In Duval's centenary picture, elsewhere alluded 
to in this volume, the subject of this sketch occu- 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 365 

pies a prominent place. His personal appearance 
conveyed the idea of perfect contentment. He 
was of low stature, probably five feet six inches, 
but his corpulence made him appear perhaps less 
than that. While exceedingly rotund and fleshy, 
there was so much of intelligence and character in 
the countenance, that the intellectual and moral as- 
pect of the man struck the stranger much more 
forcibly than the physical, and the impression first 
made upon the mind was of a most pleasant sort. 
Benevolence, intelligence, affability, and over these 
a veil of meditative quietude, would be attributed to 
him by the most casual observer — they were writ- 
ten, as with a sunbeam, upon his bland and open 
countenance. But closer inspection would detect 
more than these. Firmness of purpose, close obser- 
vation and ready discernment of character, and 
clearness of perception, were strongly marked cha- 
racteristics of the man, and it could not fail -to be 
seen that with all this seeming repose — apparently 
amounting almost to indolence of thought — the in- 
tellect was active and vigorous; and the entire 
man, mental and physical, was held under vigilant 
control, ready for any duty or emergency that 
might call his powers into exercise. No one 
could sit long in his company without feeling a re- 
straint and deference, almost reaching veneration 
and awe, on the first introduction, but subse- 
quently subsiding into a pleasanter feeling, if the 
reverend gentleman's estimate of your character 
justified him in giving you his confidence. With 



366 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS, 

all the beaming goodness and bon hommie appear- 
ance of Mr. Morley, there was a reserve — though 
that word is a shade too strong to express my pre- 
cise meaning — which forbade undue freedom of 
access. It seemed, in effect, to say that the reve- 
rend gentleman would rather form his own judg- 
ment of character than rely upon mere report ; 
and the probability was, that having for awhile di- 
rected your conversation elsewhere, on again ad- 
dressing Mr. Morley, you would detect him 
thoughtfully and closely, but never rudely, scan- 
ning you ; while something in the eye told you 
that you were, or would be, thoroughly under- 
stood. His discernment rarely failed him, and his 
confidence once given, he was a faithful friend 
through every vicissitude, and his sound judgment 
and extensive knowledge of men and things made 
him an invaluable counselor and guide. 

Mr. Morley was emphatically a preacher of the 
gospel. An extensive reader, and of no mean 
acquirements in general literature, he held these 
subordinate to the authoritative and didactic truths 
of the gospel, and ministered to those who heard 
him the unadulterated word of God. A rich, evan- 
gelical unction, attended his preaching — the de- 
monstration of the Spirit with power — while the 
practical doctrines of Christianity, its elevated 
morality and high requirements, were strenuously 
insisted upon. Mere emotion he never sought to 
excite. He taught the people out of the Scriptures 
— their duties and their privileges were set before 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 367 

them, not with vehemence or in strains of impas- 
sioned eloquence, but with clearness and force. 
His ministry was more adapted to feed the flock 
of Christ than to please those who had itching 
ears, or attract those who had not yet tasted of the 
things of God. Not that he was lacking in cor- 
rectness of style, fluency of utterance, or elevation 
of thought. His style was, indeed, remarkably 
chaste, his thoughts always well arranged, and his 
subject well digested. But his mind was contem- 
plative rather than impulsive, appreciative rather 
than vigorous ; his views correct rather than start- 
ling ; and his sermons such as were to be thought of 
at home, and meditated upon in the closet long 
after they had been listened to from the pulpit. 

Not many ministers more universally enjoyed 
the confidence and esteem of their brethren than 
the Rev. George Morley ; and his death occasioned 
a deep feeling through the connection. "Few 
men," says the brief official notice in the Minutes, 
"have pursued, for upward of half a century, a 
more unbroken course of activity and usefulness ; 
his labors being continued, with scarcely a day's 
interruption, until the last month of his earthly 
career. His life was one of perpetual sunshine. 
He was, emphatically, a happy man ; and his end 
perfectly accorded with the tenor of his life. Shortly 
before his departure, he said, with great emphasis, 
' I gave myself to God, and to his people, threescore 
years ago, and he has never left me. He is with me 
now ; and he will never leave me nor forsake me.' " 



368 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 



3ostip\) Smttmont, ill. W. 

M His eloquence a stream of living thought, 
Gushing from out the fountain of the heart — 
Now 'mong green pastures, making minstrelsy, 
Now fearless, rushing from the dizzy brink, 
Like mountain cataract, with thundering voice, 
Bearing the breathless hearers midst the foam ; 
Then lulling into calm, midst rainbow hues, 
As gently flow'd, from his persuasive tongue, 
The promises of pleasantness and peace." 

The fame of the Rev. Dr. Beaumont as a preacher 
is not confined to " Albion's sea-girt isle." It has 
reached this continent, and it is no uncommon thing 
to hear his name mentioned, not only by those of 
his countrymen who are now residents in the 
United States, but by Americans who have visited 
England, and, attracted by his high reputation, 
have sought opportunities of listening to his elo- 
quent advocacy of the truth. These differ, as was 
to be expected, in their estimate of his pulpit 
talents and the degree of admiration they accord 
to him. Some think him too vehement, others are 
led captive by his earnestness ; some think his 
imagination excessive, and his imagery bordering 
upon extravagance ; others find an imposing charm 
in his exuberance of fancy ; some think him not 
sufficiently argumentative and logical ; and others, 
again, admire his power of declamation and of pic- 
torial representation. But they all, so far as per- 
sonal observation extends, agree that he is a man 
of wonderful genius, sincere and zealous in his holy 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 369 

vocation, possessing, in a remarkable degree, the 
power of swaying the hearts of his hearers, and 
eminently fitted to keep upon their watch-towers, 
or lead on to conquests, any division of the army 
of the living God of which he may be in com- 
mand. 

In a remarkable degree Dr. Beaumont, as a 
pulpit orator, affords room for this variety of 
opinion, while the tout-ensemble entirely justifies 
the agreement in which all those opinions meet. 
He is altogether an extraordinary man, under whose 
ministry it is always profitable and delightful to 
sit ; yet whose defects immediately arrest the at- 
tention of the intelligent and observant hearer. His 
very eloquence is peculiar, and heightens both the 
beauties and blemishes of his style. At times it 
has all the impetuosity of a rushing torrent, leaping 
down rapids, bounding over rocks, and dashing 
through ravines, that seem to echo and reverberate 
with its roar. But then it has also its lull in 
almost equal proportions, when it seems to sleep 
in its placid bed, or ripples with wondrously sweet 
music between its flowery banks. In these more 
quiet moments the hearer has time to look back on 
the scenery through which he has passed ; and 
reflection, which was held in abeyance to the 
pleasing turbulence of emotion, is brought into 
play. He remembers a succession of sublime and 
beautiful imagery, of vivid pictures drawn with 
all the boldness and distinctness of reality; but 
thev have rapidly receded from view, the very per- 

24 



370 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

fection of each having tended to supplant the im- 
pression of the former. Or, speaking more strictly, 
the hearer has been so captivated by the startling 
rapidity of majestic objects, that he has not ob- 
served the windings of the stream, or whither its 
course was leading him, and, while lost in admi- 
ration of the pictorial beauty of the scene, has 
had no time for investigation and analysis. And 
I think it will be admitted by those who sit regu- 
larly under his ministry, that his great popularity 
is attributable quite as much to his profusion of 
imagery and impetuous grandeur and beauty of 
diction, with his unwearied zeal, as to the clearness 
of his theological views, his power of definition, or 
aptitude of arrangement. 

I would not be misunderstood. As remarked 
in another of the sketches in this volume, to say 
of any individual Methodist preacher that he is 
thoroughly Wesleyan in doctrine, would be only to 
say of one that which is common to all. Dr. Beau- 
mont is thoroughly sound in doctrine, intimately 
conversant with all the phases of theological truth 
as held by the Wesleyan Methodists, and earnest 
and faithful in their explication. But, on the other 
hand, he is not so much distinguished for profun- 
dity of thought as for felicitous exhibition of the 
truth. He somewhat resembles Mr. Dawson in 
that, while evincing a much more polished style 
and more copious and classic language, he is, in 
the elucidation of the truth, more indebted to ge- 
nius than to absolutely intellectual greatness. There 



SKETCHES OF WBSLEYAN PREACHERS. 371 

is in his sermons more of illustration than logic, of 
declamation than argument. Light flashes upon the 
audience at every turn ; but it is the sudden blaze 
of genius, rather than the steady effulgence of ripe 
and matured thought. Genius is, indeed, his 
distinguishing characteristic ; and it is genius not 
unaided, but having all the advantages of educa- 
tion and physical temperament, and a beauty and 
abundance of language possessed but by very few ; 
genius, too, that is remarkably free from the erratic 
movements to which it is usually prone, for it is 
held in strict abeyance to the great end of all 
preaching, the practical enforcement of the pre- 
cepts and requirements of the gospel, and the ex- 
hibition of its exalted privileges and abounding 
consolations. His definitions rarely partake of the 
preciseness of the practiced polemic. The minuter 
shades of difference are rarely dwelt upon, in which 
he is almost the antipodes of another popular 
minister, the Rev. William M. Bunting, whose me- 
taphysical acumen enables him to dissect the most 
delicate fibres of doctrinal truths. These Dr. Beau- 
mont rarely touches. Either he does not see them, 
or he does not heed them. They, at least, serve 
not his purpose of direct and forcible appeal. He 
has more to do with the heart and conscience than 
with metaphysical distinctions ; with the business 
and bosoms of men than with the schools, though 
he is by no means unversed in their teachings. 
The arrangement of his discourses has reference to 
the points available for effect, and is so far in ac- 



372 SKETCHES OF WESLEY AX PREACHERS. 

cordance with their matter and the manner of their 
delivery. But the plan, while sometimes evincing 
originality, is generally within the usual range of 
sermonical system, unobjectionable, but not pecu- 
liarly striking. 

So far the negative qualities of our subject as a 
preacher have been dwelt upon; and when it is 
added that, owing to a defect in the palate, which 
is relieved by artificial means, his utterance is often, 
indeed always, labored, all has been said that need 
be on that aspect of the man. As a pulpit orator, 
perhaps, he has no superior in effective ministration 
of the word ; and I apprehend he is at this day 
as popular as any minister in the Wesleyan con- 
nection, unless Dr. Newton be an exception. When- 
ever he preaches, either in his own circuit or 
elsewhere, he commands overflowing congregations. 
Like Dr. Newton, he is popular with all. It is 
not with either the higher or lower classes alone 
that he finds favor ; not with the purely intellectual 
and refined alone, any more than with those only, 
of whom there are always too many, who live 
mainly upon emotion or excitement. The literate 
and illiterate alike crowd to hear him, and reap 
pleasure and profit from his ministry. Even the 
profound thinker, while he feels that, to some ex- 
tent, there is a falling short of the standard con- 
genial to his tastes, still gathers a harvest of brilliant 
ideas, and feels the impetus of his impassioned 
utterance. Indeed, none can resist it. When the 
gush of feeling is upon him, when the glow of 



SKETCHES OF WESLEi'AN PREACHERS. 373 

genius is kindled, the fire in his bones consumes 
everything before it. Light bursts from every 
sentence, now with the fierceness of the " forked 
lightning's glare ;" now with the sublime, but 
softened beauty of the electric flash behind the 
summer cloud ; and anon with the splendor of the 
midday sun and with its burning heat. Image 
upon image is piled with majestic grandeur and 
dazzling gorgeousness ; a moment after, the mi- 
nutest forms of created things are pressed into the 
preacher's sendee for the illustration of his subject ; 
and all so instinct with life, that it seems as though 
the real, rather than the ideal, was present before 
the audience. Sometimes, indeed, the preacher 
seems himself to be the personation of the symbol 
employed, so perfectly does he embody his idea, 
and so entirely in keeping is every intonation and 
action. I remember one remarkable instance of 
this, though the occasion is now so remote that I 
cannot remember other portions of the sermon, in 
the absence of which, and because I cannot recall 
the speaker's felicitous language, the figure will be 
shorn of much of its beauty. 

Dr. Beaumont was preaching in one of the Sal- 
ford (Manchester) chapels. In the progress of the 
discourse, he was led to speak of the " riches, of 
wisdom, and knowledge," and consolation, which 
the true believer might gather from the sacred 
word. It was " sweeter than honey or the honey- 
comb. " But it was by diligent searching only 
that its hidden treasures could be secured. Car- 



3*74 SB3BTCUES 01' WESLEYA^N PREACHERS. 

rying out the idea, he depicted the bee, indus- 
triously prosecuting its search for honey, darting 
across the cultivated garden 1 , sipping nectar and 
lading itself with store-honey from every opening 
flower; now flying over the wide-spread moor, 
finding treasures of sweetness even in the modest 
flowers of wild thyme and the delicately tinted 
petals of the humble heather ; and anon humming 
blithely its merry, grateful song, as it sought its 
homeward way by the deep ravine, and even there 
found new treasures as it alighted for a moment 
upon the lowly primrose or retiring violet. But 
no types, no language, especially where memory 
is the only guide, can convey to the reader a tithe 
of the beauties of the illustration as orally presented 
by the preacher. Placing the Bible under his 
arm, and pressing it to his heart as a treasure 
" more precious than rubies," he dwelt in measured 
cadence upon the picture, adapting his intonations 
so exactly to the rapid movements, the sudden 
haltings and startings of the laborious insect, that 
his hearers seemed to journey with him through 
garden, and moorland, and clefts of rocks, and 
almost to see the ideal insect, and hear its joyful 
hum, as now it hovered over the inviting flower, or, 
rejoicing over its spoils, sped its rapid flight to its 
refuge and home. I have listened to not a few 
glowing scenes from nature, but never heard I so 
perfect a poetic impersonation — for it was more 
than painting ; it had life, and motion, and voice. 
And such displays of pictorial power were by no 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 375 

means rare. I marvel not at Dr. Beaumont's popu- 
larity ; he has all the elements of it, with an abound- 
ing zeal which spares no strength or labor in his 
Master's service. 

In social life our subject is as captivating as in 
his more public duties. He is the fast, whole- 
souled friend, all the more attached and faithful 
when "times of dark distress prevail." He is the 
friend indeed, because the friend in need. While 
he retains confidence in one whom he has trusted, 
no amount of obloquy, or reproach, or persecution, 
can deter him from throwing around the object of 
his attachment the shield of his protection. It is, 
indeed, at such times that he shows the ardor and 
heartiness of his affection for his friends. He will 
fight their battles to the last struggle of a forlorn 
hope ; nor then will he forsake one whom he recog- 
nizes as a friend. Utterly indifferent of conse- 
quences to himself, he will never desert those 
whose claims upon -his services his heart tells him 
he must allow, but with untired devotion will labor 
on their behalf. 

In Conference Dr. Beaumont has long been 
accounted, to use a parliamentary term, the " leader 
of the opposition." I know not that he would 
acknowledge the appellation, but it is undoubtedly 
true to a great extent. He is fond of the excite- 
ment of debate, but never stoops to small game. 
The shafts of his controversy are directed prin- 
cipally, and almost altogether, against Dr. Bunting ; 
and he is not sparing in language. He is fierce 



376 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

and fearless, and though sometimes personal, and 
apt to attribute motives and assign reasons for the 
measures he opposes, which would be scarcely 
creditable to his brethren, he is never ill-natured. 
He will say right out, before the face of every 
man, what others would be apt to think only, or, 
at most, to whisper. He knows nothing of sly 
caution when entering the arena of debate. It 
must be acknowledged also, if common report be 
true, that he is often wrong in his positions, and 
easily " floored " for want of due reflection and 
discrimination before he enters the field. His very 
impulsiveness unfits him for a skillful and success- 
ful debater. He is too keen of the game, and 
starts before he is fairly on the trail. Hence he is 
no match for Dr. Bunting, who lets much of his 
opponent's fire go unanswered, but occasionally 
pours in a destructive volley, and effectually, for 
the time, silences his guns. It is this extreme 
quickness to "spar" that has made Dr. Beaumont 
the most prominent man on the side of the Con- 
ference which chooses to call itself " liberal ;" and 
the vigor with which he conducts the assault, and 
the strong under-feeling of thoroughly generous 
and frank good nature which will ever and anon 
gush out, give a charm to his conferential outbreaks. 
The moment he rises, expectation is excited. Smiles 
are exchanged on every hand, and in the remoter 
parts of the house the preachers will be seen bend- 
ing forward to catch every motion and each flash 
of the eye ; for with these the doctor augments 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 377 

the force of his appeals. As the speaker warms 
with his theme, sparks are emitted, followed by 
scintillations and streams of light ; then come sal- 
lies of wit, and, ere long, strong and vehement 
invective. Now his audience are hushed as the 
silent night, and anon, as he again indulges in the 
playful vein, a general hearty laughter may be 
heard through the house, from those he is flaying 
as well as from the rest. For it may be said here 
that the Wesleyan preachers, with occasionally a 
rare exception, so long as no malice is exhibited, 
can enjoy a sally of wit at their own expense with 
as thorough good humor as they can inflict it on 
others. This is the case with Dr. Beaumont. He 
strikes hard, and strikes home ; but he has no ob- 
jection to a hard blow in return. Indeed, he is 
in his glory in the midst of an intellectual melee. He 
is the Mr. Brougham of the "opposition benches/' 
watching every movement of the majority with 
lynx-eyed suspicion, and pouncing upon their 
measures almost before they have emerged into 
the light ; but, like that same impersonation of 
biting sarcasm, quick retort, brilliant wit, and ex- 
cursive fancy, he dazzles and delights his friends 
more than he excites their confidence or secures 
their reliance upon his judgment. He will never 
be a permanent ruler in Israel ; but whoever does 
rule, will have Dr. Beaumont's opposition in mind 
when he frames his measures. I apprehend that 
the doctor is now as strictly in his proper sphere 
of usefulness to the connection — in the position he 



378 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

will hold, without a successful rival, to the day of 
his death — as is the Rev. Dr. Bunting. Each is at 
the head of his respective corps, where his talents 
can be known and appreciated. 

In personal appearance our subject is in no way- 
peculiar. He possesses a hearty, robust frame, is 
somewhat dark complexioned, with black eyes. 
He is about five feet ten inches high — possibly an 
inch taller. His preaching is apparently attended 
with great physical exertion ; yet I am not aware 
that he suffers any exhaustion, or is accustomed to 
complain even of any great weariness, after a most 
laborious sabbath. He is now about fifty-five years 
of age, and has been in the itinerancy since 1813. 
He has acquired his present vast popularity prin- 
cipally within the last fifteen to twenty years. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 3*79 



tnUliam jSljaro. 

" Unto me is this grace given, that I should preach unto the 
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." 

In the "Wesleyan Centenary Takings," so often 
referred to in this volume, it is very justly said of 
the Rev. William Shaw, that he is no believer in 
the sentiment of Voltaire : " Bring together all the 
children of the universe, and you will see nothing 
in them but innocence, gentleness, and fear ; were 
they born wicked, spiteful, and cruel, some signs 
of it would come from them, as little snakes strive 
to bite, and little tigers to tear. But nature having 
been as sparing of offensive weapons to man as to 
pigeons and rabbits, it cannot have given them an 
instinct to mischief and destruction." Such a 
creed, adds the author of the " Takings," would 
have saved Mr. Shaw much risk and toil in the 
African deserts. But Mr. Shaw knows human na- 
ture better than did Voltaire, and is not the man 
to build his practice upon such a shallow sophism. 
He knows that man is depraved ; that reason, intel- 
ligence — the means which God gave man for de- 
fense and the maintenance of his superiority over 
other created beings — are willfully and awfully 
perverted, and used as a " weapon of rebellion" 
against the donor ; that man is tainted with moral 
evil ; that without the restraints of divine grace 
and the renewing energy of the Holy Ghost, the 
human heart is " evil, and only evil, and evil con- 



380 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 

tinually ;" and the negative virtues of infancy and 
childhood are overruled by the positive wayward- 
ness, perverseness, and hostility to all that is holy, 
of the heart of man ; and hence he " counts not 
his life dear unto him, so that he may fulfill his 
course with joy, and the ministry he has received 
of the Lord Jesus." 

There are in the Wesley an connection two mis- 
sionaries of the name of Shaw, Barnabas and Wil- 
liam ; each of whom has spent a great part of his 
life amid the savage tribes of Africa, and, by his 
devotion and success, earned a high and enviable 
reputation. There exists, I believe, no consan- 
guinity between them. Of the former I have no 
personal knowledge, and do not recollect that I 
ever saw him. He is universally spoken of as a 
man of a fine spirit ; of indomitable perseverance 
in the work to which he has given himself ; and 
has been not inaptly styled " the apostle of Wes- 
leyan missions to Southern Africa." His " Memo- 
rials"* will be a lasting monument of his devo- 
tion, zeal, and success. 

With the Rev. William Shaw I had the happi- 
ness of a slight acquaintance during the brief 
interval of his missionary life. He was then sta- 
tioned in the Leeds West circuit, probably in the 
years 1831-2. His personal appearance strongly 
indicated his character. He is a man of strong 

* Memorials of South Africa. By Barnabas Shaw, Wesleyan 
Missionary, resident in the Country nearly twenty Years. Repub 
lished at the Methodist Book Concern in New- York. 



SKETCHES OF WESLEY AN PREACHERS. 381 

sense rather than of brilliant parts ; of a frank and 
manly nature and noble spirit ; and endued with a 
personal courage that shrinks from no danger, but 
would brave any peril, or dare any enterprise, 
which duty involved or prompted; yet, withal, 
prudent and discreet — "a fine specimen of the 
missionary spirit and character/ ' This was shown 
on his first entrance upon his missionary life, some 
twenty-five years ago. His original station was 
within the bounds of the colonial government, at 
Graham's Town, I think, and consequently he was 
exposed to comparatively little peril, being under 
British protection. But his heart yearned toward 
the poor outcasts in the "regions beyond," and 
he resolved to visit them. He consulted the colo- 
nial authorities upon the subject, who warned him 
of the perils he would encounter ; of their inability 
to protect him beyond a certain line, further than 
which they neither exercised nor claimed juris- 
diction ; apprised him of the character of the 
Kaffir population, their ferocity, treachery, and 
cunning ; and assured him that it would be mad- 
ness, amounting to a criminal disregard of life, for 
any person to go alone, even ten miles beyond the 
border ; much more so to attempt to penetrate 
into the interior, as he proposed, unarmed and 
unprepared to resist or intimidate the wily, exas- 
perated, and cruel Kaffirs. But " none of these 
things moved him." He had seen some of these 
wretched people in their occasional visits to the 
colony, and he longed to preach to them the 



382 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

knowledge of Christ crucified ; to impart to them, 
in some measure, the blessings of civilization, and 
to raise them from the depths of their degradation 
and vice. 

Mrs. Shaw had scarcely less of the missionary- 
spirit than her noble husband. She sympathized 
cordially in his views and feelings, and, prompted 
and sustained by Christian heroism, seconded his 
resolves, and declared herself ready to endure any 
toil or hardship, and brave any danger, to which, 
in Mr. Shaw's absence, she might be exposed. 
Thus strengthened, he set about the execution of 
his purpose ; and with one or two attendants he 
and his heroic helpmeet journeyed toward the 
frontier. The line was reached, the eventful crisis 
was upon them ; the attendants and Mrs. Shaw 
prepared to take their leave, not without another 
remonstrance, on the part of the attendants, with 
Mr. Shaw on his hazardous enterprise. It was 
an awful moment — an eventful crisis. The stern 
reality of a missionary's life presented itself in its 
most uninviting aspect. The dark untrodden wilds 
of Kaffraria lay before him ; a land inhabited only 
by savage and cruel tribes, whom only the gospel 
could tame, and who might refuse its overtures, 
and fatally resent the white man's intrusion into 
their haunts. Dense forests were to be traversed, 
where he could hear only the roar of the lion or 
howl of the wolf ; before him were days and nights 
of exposure to the elements, relieved only by tem- 
porary shelter amid the filth and savage rudeness 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 383 

of an African kraal. But to endure these were 
less hardship than to leave behind friends, and 
countrymen, and wife ; and voluntarily to shut 
himself out from the civilized world, and the pro- 
tecting shadow of the British sceptre, so powerful 
to shield those upon whom it rests. The choice 
had to be made, and Mr. Shaw " staggered not at 
the promise because of unbelief, " save for a mo- 
ment as he turned to bid adieu to his devoted wife. 
But she had nerved herself for the trial ; nay, rather 
she had looked to " the strong for strength'' to com- 
plete a sacrifice, the magnitude of which none but 
a loving, Christian wife, could understand ; and 
that strength was supplied to her from above. 
She bade him go into the far country, into the 
wilderness, as God had commanded ; and take 
with him her heart, and her admiration of his 
Christian integrity and fortitude, and her prayers 
and her blessing, and the assurance of God's pro- 
tecting care and love over both him and her. And 
then the attendants were requested to retire to a 
short distance, and the noble-hearted missionary 
and his, if possible, nobler-hearted wife knelt down 
beside their solitary wagon and presented them- 
selves a " living sacrifice unto God." When they 
rose from their knees, they resolutely separated, 
the one to return to Graham's Town, the other to 
go forth amid strangers and savages, confident, 
however, that he was in the keeping of Him whose 
presence should be his protection, and his right 
arm — his defense. That was true heroism, be- 



884 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

fore which deeds of valor on the battle field, amid 
the excitement of conflict and the hope of renown, 
pale their fires ; and he the bravest warrior who, 
single-handed and without carnal weapons, boldly 
entered the enemy's country to subdue it to the 
allegiance of Christ. 

After some ten or eleven years' uninterrupted 
missionary life, Mr. Shaw returned for a short time 
to his native land, the disturbed condition of affairs 
in Africa interrupting for a season the successful 
prosecution of his labors. His reputation, by means 
of his letters and journals occasionally published 
in the "Missionary Notices," had preceded him, 
and many circuits desired his services. There being 
no immediate prospect of an " open door" for his 
return to Africa, he was, at the ensuing Conference 
after his return, regularly stationed in the home 
w^ork. After some three or four years, events took 
a more favorable turn ; the British government 
expressed a strong desire that the Wesleyan Mis- 
sionary Society would reoccupy the ground they 
had temporarily abandoned, and Mr. Shaw was 
apprised that the committee desired his return. 
The British government, however, were not content 
with the simple expression of their wish that the 
society's stations should be reoccupied ; but having, 
in the prosecution of their inquiries into the diffi- 
culties which had occurred between the natives 
and the colonists, partially ascertained the universal 
esteem in which Mr. Shaw was held, and the vast 
influence which he had acquired, proposed to the 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 385 

managing committee that lie should return into the 
interior, clothed with official power, next in rank 
to the colonial governor : that, in fact, he should 
go out as deputy governor, resident among the 
native population, the government taking upon 
themselves his support, or contributing to the so- 
ciety a sum equivalent thereto. To supersede any 
objection which might be raised, they were even 
willing, and it was a proof of their confidence both 
in Mr. Shaw and the missionary committee, that 
he should retain, to its fullest extent, his mission- 
ary character and office, and be held responsible, 
first of all, to the society with which he had been 
so long and honorably connected. 

These, I believe, were the facts of the case, and 
the missionary committee were not a little embar- 
rassed by the proposal ; especially as feeling ran 
high in the colony upon the subject, as it also did 
in England. Ungenerous and unjust remarks had 
been published upon the conduct of the Wesleyan 
missionaries, in quarters where the committee, and 
the friends of missions generally, had a right to 
expect better things. Frequent and grave were 
the consultations of the committee. There were 
advantages, which it would not have been right to 
overlook ; but there was a possible danger in uniting 
the official or political character with that of the 
ministerial, which seemed to outweigh every other 
consideration, and finally induced the committee 
respectfully to decline the proposal. The com- 
mittee, however, saw the propriety of clothing 

25 



386 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

Mr. Shaw with additional powers from themselves : 
he was made " chairman of the Albany and Kaf- 
fraria district, and general superintendent of 
the Wesleyan missions in South-Eastern Africa," 
resident at Graham's Town ; which office he has 
now held, for more than twelve years, with entire 
satisfaction to all interested in that somewhat pecu- 
liar field of missionary labor."* 

As was intimated, it was during his three or 
four years' sojourn in his native land, that my com- 
paratively slight acquaintance with Mr. Shaw was 
formed. I more than once accompanied him to 
his week-night appointments in the country, or 
went to meet him on his return. His society was 
exceedingly agreeable, and his conversation enter- 
taining as well as profitable. His manners were 
remarkably unassuming. Few men are so free 
from egotism, especially when they have passed 

* At the anniversary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, in 1834, 
Mr. Shaw gave an interesting account of the Kaffir tribes, among 
whom he had labored. Speaking of their religious opinions, he 
said, that they imagine God lives in a cave on the eastern side of 
the earth, out of which the sun comes daily. They believe that 
men, dogs, elephants, &c, came out of that cave in the order men- 
tioned at the creation. They expose their aged relatives to death. 
Mr. Shaw mentioned a case of a mother who was bound to a tree 
in a forest by her own son, after escaping twice, and allowed by 
him to perish, although he could hear her cries for food and water. 
They believed that one of their number could cause rain ; and Mr. 
S. was obliged, on one occasion, to enter into a controversy with 
the " rain-maker," who, when hard pressed to make rain at a time 
when the cattle were dying for want of water, said that the sound 
of the chapel-bell drove the rain away. After a special prayer 
meeting for rain by the Kaffir Christians, it fell in great abundance. 
The females were very cruelly treated until Mr. Shaw obtained 
some laws to be passed in their favor ; in which, out of gratitude, 
they gave him the name of Kaka labafars—" the shield of women." 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 38*7 

through such varied and peculiar scenes as he has, 
and of which friends were constantly desiring to 
hear and urging him to speak. He was always 
somewhat chary of narrating his adventures, and 
modestly avoided the lionism they would have 
thrust upon him ; and there was something about 
him— a sort of unobstrusive disrnitv, it could scarce- 
ly be called reserve — which checked any undue or 
impertinent pressing upon him of such disclosures. 
Under the circumstances, however, of my almost 
only opportunities of conversing with him, he would 
very cheerfully narrate incidents of his African life. 
Had I then contemplated ever paying this tribute 
to Mr. Shaw's worth, and piety, and well-tempered 
zeal, I would have labored hard to mnemonize the 
particulars of those familiar narrations. 

While traversing the wilds and forests of Kaf- 
fraria, Mr. Shaw was often f six and nine months, 
and sometimes longer, without spending a single 
night under a roof, other than the " star-spangled " 
arch of heaven, sleeping sometimes upon the 
ground, but more frequently poised in the branches 
of a tree, because of the wild and ferocious beasts 
which there abounded. He got to prefer sleeping 
out of doors, experiencing a sense of suffocation, 
and a degree of fever which deprived him of rest, 
when covered with a roof. And this he felt long- 
after his return to England. When he first com- 
menced his travels among the Kaffirs, it was almost 
certain death for an unarmed man to approach 
their haimts, or even travel through any portion 



388 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

of the country over which the Kaffirs are scattered. 
But before he left, the man, who with a steady 
and truthful eye could declare himself " a mission- 
ary," (using the native word,) could pass in any 
and every direction, not only safely, but would 
find the natives willing to leave any employment 
for the sake of hearing the gospel, or of conducting 
the missionary to his next place of call. Yet in 
all this there was peril ; but Mr. Shaw's trust was 
in God ; he relied upon the promise of protection 
and guidance given to the faithful ; he felt that his 
mission was from Heaven, and no toil or danger 
could deter him from fulfilling it. 

I remember walking home with Mr. Shaw one 
very dark night, and our path lay through a gloomy 
and unfrequented road. Something transpired to 
awaken associations on his heart, which led him to 
narrate the following circumstance, which occurred 
during the latter part of his first missionary sendee. 
He had been preaching somewhere near the bor- 
der fine, at an African village, where it was usual 
for some member of the family of a Dutch Boor, 
residing at some four or five miles' distance, to 
meet him, and to take him to the farm-house to 
spend the night. On this evening none of this 
family were present; and, after preaching, Mr. 
Shaw mounted his nag and started for the Boor's 
farm. He had not traveled far, and was ascend- 
ing a narrow path cut in the mountain side, when 
he heard behind him the howl of wolves, a couple 
of which soon rushed past him, making " night 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 389 

hideous" with their yells. Mr. Shaw — knowing 
that their habit was to start their game into flight, 
and then, pursuing it, hang upon its flanks, until, 
its strength being exhausted, it became an easy 
prey — reined in his horse, and quietly patted it 
upon the neck. Fortunately, it was an old, staid 
animal, accustomed to such matters, and jogged 
on without seeming to notice the disturbance. 
Soon the two, with companions, rushed down the 
road, thus meeting the horse and his rider. Still 
the manoeuvre failed — only, however, to be re- 
peated with increased fierceness and impetuosity 
from each side of the road ; and as the number 
of wolves had now increased to a considerable 
pack, Mr. Shaw began seriously to apprehend 
danger from their assault. Aware of the influence 
of the human voice upon these ferocious, but cow- 
ardly animals, he endeavored to intimidate them 
by shouting, and also by cracking his whip. As 
they approached the farm-house, he increased his 
vociferations, (for the wolves were becoming un- 
comfortably bold and persevering in their ap- 
proaches,) and thus aroused the dogs, which, by 
Dutch settlers, are always kept in great numbers 
there ; and the wolves gradually slunk away, 
leaving Mr. Shaw and his horse both unharmed. 
Some other similar narrow escapes he narrated to 
me, the circumstances of which I cannot remember 
with sufficient accuracy to repeat them. 

As a preacher Mr. Shaw was more instructive 
and profitable than attractive. His sermons were 



390 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

always clear, lucid, common- sense expositions of 
the truth ; his walk and conversation among the 
people were eminently seasoned with personal 
piety and sound judgment ; and his attention to 
his pastoral duties was unceasing and uniform. 
His personal appearance was pleasing. In stature 
he was about five feet seven ; the countenance 
pleasing, combining, in a remarkable degree, be- 
nevolence and firmness ; the eye dark, bright, and 
full, and the hair black. An expression of sweet 
serenity played about the lips. He was not guilty 
of conformity to the world in the matter of apparel, 
which, though always good of its kind, was in 
fashion upon the model of that worn by the early 
Methodist preachers. 



APPENDIX. 



NOTICES OF ENGLISH METHODISM. 

It has been suggested that an exposition of the 
economy of Wesleyan Methodism — its modus operandi 
— with especial reference to the itinerancy, would be 
an acceptable, and perhaps useful, conclusion to this 
volume. Though, from the limited space at my dis- 
posal, such an exposition must be necessarily brief, 
and so far imperfect, yet I feel disposed to adopt the 
suggestion, and shall be gratified if these pages 
contribute in any degree to the general restoration, so 
far as practicable, of that distinguishing feature of Wes- 
leyan Methodism, and chief element of its success — 
the itinerant circuit system. What stress Mr. Wesley 
laid upon this, those who have read his journals and 
correspondence can best attest. The system is to this 
day rigidly adhered to in Great Britain. What we call 
stations, are unknown in the British Connection. Ex- 
cept in the case of certain officers of the Conference, 
as book-stewards, editors, missionary secretaries, pre- 
sidents and tutors of the theological institutions, govern- 
ors of academies, supernumeraries, &c, every preacher 
has, singly, or in company with others, a circuit as- 
signed him, to every part of which some portion of his 
time and labor must be devoted, according to an 
established plan. There are in Great Britain about 
four hundred and thirty circuits, and one thousand 
effective preachers. 



392 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

To show somewhat the extent of these, and the 
plan of operations in them, I will give a few par- 
ticulars of two of the Manchester circuits. Manchester 
is divided into five circuits, to each of which a portion 
of the neighboring country is attached. 

In the Second Manchester Circuit there are 
three traveling, and perhaps twenty or twenty- five local, 
preachers, and about one thousand six hundred and 
fifty members in society. The preaching places are 
as follows: — Irwell-street and Gravel-lane chapels, in 
Salford ; the superintendent resides close to the 
former, and the second preacher near the latter. 
Broughton, with an elegant Gothic chapel, in the 
suburbs ; the congregation select and wealthy. Pendle- 
ton, also in the suburbs, but among a more mixed 
population ; a neat, medium-sized, galleried chapel, 
about two miles from Salford. Irlams c? th' Heights, 
about three miles distant from the circuit town ; a good 
chapel, and chiefly a rural population. Sainton, four 
miles; a large chapel, the population partly rural, 
partly working manufacturers, and partly colliers. 
Walkden Moor, six miles ; a good-sized chapel, popu- 
lation mainly colliers. Boothstown, eight miles ; a large 
preaching room, people poor and illiterate. Worsley, 
seven miles ; chapel good, congregation chiefly colliers, 
with a sprinkling of some old Methodist families. Each 
of these places is preached at by the traveling preach- 
ers in rotation at stated times on the Sunday, and once 
a week on the week nights. The country chapels will 
seat from four to eight hundred. There are some half 
dozen other places, varying in distance from two to 
eight miles, supplied every Sunday by local preachers. 
Nearly all the appointments have preaching twice on 
the Sunday, some three times, the local co-operating 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 393 

with the itinerant preachers in supplying them. Ex- 
cept occasionally, the town chapels are supplied by the 
itinerant ministers. A horse is not kept for the preach- 
ers, who walk to their country appointments both on 
Sundays and week days, getting a "lift, or ride, occa- 
sionally, as they can. 

Of the Fifth Manchester Circuit I have before 
me a plan or programme, exhibiting the " order of the 
religious services" for the months of April, May, and 
June, 1847. This plan, which is issued quarterly, is 
printed in pamphlet form, contains the times and places 
of preaching, class meetings, prayer meetings, and 
other services ; and the names and residences of the 
preachers, itinerant and local : the remaining space is 
filled up with a number of passages, of a practical cha- 
racter, from various religious authors* By means of 
this I am enabled to exhibit a detail of the manner in 
which the circuit is worked. The preachers are the 
Revs. Francis A. West, Frederick J. Jobson, and John 
Kirk. The circuit is not so laborious in the number 
and distance of the appointments as many others ; but, 
as is often the case in the large towns and cities, the 
preachers have to perform a great amount of labor in 
attending committees, &c. The table which follows 
will give a view of the services for three Sundays. 

* Among the " Notices " appended to the plan'are the following : — 
The Quarterly Fast will be observed on Friday, Jnne 25, when 
public prayer meetings will be held in Oxford-road, George-street, 
and Radnor-street vestries, at eight o'clock in the morning, and at 
eight o'clock in the evening. 

A Male Bible Class meets in Oxford-road vestry, every Monday 
evening, at eight o'clock ; and a Female Bible Class on Tuesday 
afternoon, at three o'clock, and at George-street, on Friday even- 
ing, at seven o' clock. The junior children are catechised and in- 
structed in Oxford-road, George-street, and Radnor-street vestries, 
every Saturday afternoon, at three o' clock. These classes are 



394 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



1847. 


Time. 


June 6. 


June 13. 

• 


June 20. 


Scripture Lessons. < 


Morn. \ 
Even. 


Joshua 23. 
Mark 12. 
Phil. 2. 


1 Sam. 3. 
Luke 4. 

2 Cor. 10. 


1 Sam. 12. 
Luke 13. 
Gal. 4. 


OXFORD-ROAD. 

Week-night preach'g. 

Day school. 

Mt'g. for expos. & pra. 


3 
6 

Thur. 
Thur. 
Friday. 


Kirk. 
Tetlow. 
Jobson. 
Kirk. 

West. 


West. 

Gibbs. 

Kirk. 

West. 

West. 

West. 


Jobson. 
Makinson. 
West. 
Jobson. 

West. 


GEORGE-STREET. 

Week-night preach'g. 
Exposition and prayer 


6 

W T ed. 
Friday. 


Jobson. 
West. 
Jobson. 
Kirk. 


Kirk. 
Jobson. 
Kirk. 
Kirk. 


West. 
Kirk. 
West. 
Kirk. 


RADNOR-STREET. 
Exposition and prayer 


3 
6 

Friday. 


Institution. 

Kirk. 

Jobson. 


West. 
Clark. 
Jobson. 


Jobson. 

Bailey. 

Jobson. 


CHORLTON. 

Week-night preach'g. 


10| 

2 
6 

Tues. 


Institution. 

White. 

White. 

West. 


Jobson. 
Doxey. 
Doxey. 
Jobson. 


Barker. 
Wilshaw. 
Jobson. 
Kirk. 


WITHINGTON. 

Week-night preach'g. 


10| 
3 

6 

Tues. 


West. 

Barker. 

Barker. 


Shaw. 
Halifax. 
Halifax. 
Kirk. 


Kirk. 

Fielding. 

Andrews. 


RUSHOLME. 

Week-night preach'g. 


3 

6 
Wed. 


Wood. 
Wood. 


Roberts. 

West. 

West. 


Holgate. 
Slugg. 


NORTHERN. 

Week-night preach'g. 


1* 

Thur. 


Lowe. 
Institution. 


Institution. 
Institution. 
Jobson. 


Banning. 
Banning. 


PENITENTIARY. 


Thur. 


Jobson. 




West. 



%* The names in italics are those of local preachers. The 
word "Institution" denotes that the appointments thus marked 
will be supplied by students from the Theological Institution, at 
Didsbury, near Manchester 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 395 

From the foregoing the reader will be enabled to 
form an idea of the plan of itinerancy in the circuits 
connected with the cities and large towns. In the 
country circuits, especially in the more rural districts, 
the journeys are of necessity longer, and preachers are 
sometimes absent from home an entire week or fort- 
night ; and they invariably preach three times on the 
sabbath, and nearly every night in the week, except 
Saturday ; riding or walking from five to fifteen miles 
each day. From the " Plan " of a circuit in the county 
of Kent, I find that it contains twenty-four appoint- 
ments, at each of which there is preaching every Lord's 
day. There are tioo traveling and thirty-four local 
preachers. Thirty-nine sermons are preached every 
Sunday ; six by the traveling preachers, and thirty-three 
by the local brethren. 

It will be seen at once from these statements, that 
the local preachers are a far more numerous and im- 
portant class in the Wesleyan Connection than they 
are with us.* The services of these laborious and self- 
denying brethren are as regularly and systematically 
required and rendered, as those ofHhe traveling minis- 
accessible to all young people and children belonging to our con- 
gregations, and they are affectionately invited and urged to attend. 
The Local Preachers 1 Library remains, as formerly, at Grosvenor- 
street vestry ; and as the use of it is still common to the preachers 
in the Third and Fifth Circuits, the brethren are urged to avail them- 
selves of this great advantage, and to " give attendance to reading." 

* It was stated some time since in an English paper, (the Wes- 
leyan,) that the number of sermons delivered weekly by the travel- 
ing preachers, is 3951, or 205,452 in the year ; the number by the 
local preachers is 11,641 weekly, or 605,302 in the year. The num- 
ber of miles annually traveled by the traveling preachers, in their 
regular work, is 319,092 ; number of miles annually traveled by the 
local preachers, 2,917,418: total, 3,261,140 miles, a distance equal 
to one hundred and thirty times the circumference of the globe, 



396 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

ters, and could be as little dispensed with. It is no 
uncommon thing for one of these worthies — and no 
men in [the general more deserve the appellation — 
to walk fifteen, twenty, and even twenty-five miles, 
and preach twice or three times on the sabbath, after 
retiring from a week's toil late on Saturday night, to 
resume it early again on Monday morning. And this 
may be said to the everlasting honor of the local 
preachers in the Wesleyan Methodist Connection, that 
it is exceedingly rare for an appointment to be neg- 
lected, however stormy the weather or distant the place. 
Yet there are men among them daily accustomed to 
all the conveniences and comforts, and even luxuries, 
of life ; and others, whose talents qualify them to oc- 
cupy any pulpit either in this country or in England. 
I would add, that I have only known one instance of a 
traveling preacher omitting to fulfill a country appoint- 
ment on account of stress of weather, and he was 
overpersuaded by his better half, under the influence 
of such a storm as might almost have justified the 
omission. It turned out, however, that an unusual 
moving among the people had been experienced, and 
a very large congregation was disappointed. I verily 
believe that " hailstones and coals of fire " could not 
have driven him to a repetition of the neglect. 

Another feature in English Methodism is the quar- 
terly visitation of the classes by the preachers, in the 
months of March, June, September, and December, 
at which times the members receive their quarterly 
tickets. This is strictly attended to in every circuit 
in the connection. No preacher leaves his circuit on 
any account at these times, be he superintendent or 
assistant, unless adequate arrangements can be made 
to supply his lack of service in this particular. The 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAX PREACHERS. 397 

superintendent draws out the plan for himself and col- 
leagues, and the classes to be met by them during the 
week are duly announced from the pulpit. Members 
who are somewhat slack at other times, generally con- 
trive to attend at these visitations ; albeit they are 
subjected to a rigid examination as to the causes and 
effects of their inattention during the quarter. The 
preacher, in looking over the class-book, takes due 
note of all particulars therein recorded, and administers 
counsel or reproof accordingly. If a member has re- 
gularly neglected class during the quarter, the leader 
having been faithful in the mean time in visiting, ex- 
horting, and warning, the preacher unhesitatingly 
withholds the quarterly ticket, the sole evidence of 
membership, until he has opportunity of visiting the 
member. If, however, the member, without good and 
sufficient reason, neglects a regular attendance during 
the second quarter, he withholds the ticket altogether, 
and the member's name is erased, subject to an appeal 
to the leaders' meeting. Each member, on receiving 
the quarterly ticket, says what he can afford to give, 
not " for his ticket," as some speak of it, but toward 
what is called the preacher's quarterage — the sum al- 
lowed to each preacher for the incidental expenses of 
his household. The minimum payment of each mem- 
ber is a penny a week and a shilling a quarter. This, 
however, is never asked for from any one who, it may 
be supposed, cannot afford it ; while, on the other hand, 
many members pay from twopence to sixpence weekly, 
and from half a crown to twenty shillings quarterly. 
The payment of the quarterly donation is almost al- 
ways made before the class is dismissed. 

The preachers also frequently convene what are 
called " Society meetings." This duty generally de- 



398 SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 

volves upon the superintendent, though the other 
preachers are equally at liberty to attend to it as they 
see fit or find occasion. If there be any excitement 
abroad, political or otherwise ; or any peculiar state of 
the society demanding special counsel, the preacher, 
at the close of the Sunday evening discourse, expresses 
his wish that the members of society, or, as we should 
say, "church members," will stay for a short time 
after the congregation is dismissed. Nor does the 
preacher always wait for such special reason. When 
the members are thus alone, he speaks to them with 
kind familiarity on such topics as could not so well 
be introduced in a mixed assembly, and makes the 
meeting profitable for " doctrine, for reproof, for cor- 
rection, for instruction in righteousness." These meet- 
ings, as they tend to evince the pastor's interest in 
his flock, greatly promote fellowship between them. 

The leaders' meeting is held generally once a fort- 
night. The leaders show their class-books, and pay in 
the two weeks' contributions of the members. The 
preachers make a note of any who attend their classes 
irregularly, from whatever cause, and visit them. Cases 
of poor members are considered, on application from 
the leader, and such relief as is required is appor- 
tioned them from the poor's fund. This business 
being over, new leaders are appointed, when needed, 
and some time is spent in conversation and prayer. 
Each leader endeavors, so far as in him lies, to get his 
members to pay weekly ; which is at the foundation 
of the admirable financial arrangements of the English 
Wesleyans. 

The quarterly meeting somewhat resembles our " quar- 
terly conferences." In the larger circuits it generally 
commences in the forenoon, and is occupied with 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 399 

purely financial matters until dinner-time. The local 
preachers, leaders, and stewards, from the whole circuit, 
attend, as far as practicable. Each place has its repre- 
sentation. Thirty, forty, or even fifty persons, will 
be present. The meeting is usually held in the vestry 
of the principal town chapel. After the morning's 
business, they dine together ; sometimes at the super- 
intendent's house ; sometimes in one of the large class- 
rooms connected with the chapel. After dinner, and 
half an hour's breathing time, they again assemble to 
converse upon and arrange the more general matters 
pertaining to the circuit. It should have been said, 
however, that the local preachers' meeting is generally 
held before the regular quarterly meeting commences. 
They have entire jurisdiction over their own body; 
the admission of candidates on trial, or upon the full 
plan ; the examination into character, doctrine, &c. ; 
and the alteration of the hours of country preaching, 
should it be desired. The name of each local preacher 
is called, and the questions asked, — " Has he neglected 
any appointment during the quarter ? Are there any 
complaints against his moral character, or soundness 
of doctrine ? Does he continue acceptable ?" &c, &c. 
The names of the places are next called, and any sug- 
gestions or information called for. When their busi- 
ness is transacted, the meeting adjourns, and the 
members become integral parts of the quarterly meet- 
ing, where, during the afternoon, the representatives 
from the different places give accounts of the spiritual, 
or, more properly, connectional prospects, &c. At 
these meetings too, at the proper season, the stationed 
preachers are invited to continue in the circuit; or, 
if their time be expired, the choice of new ones is 
discussed. In this meeting, also, the superintendent 



4C0 



SKETCHES OF WESLEYAN PREACHERS. 



Introduces the names of any candidates for the itin- 
erancy, having previously appointed such to preach 
in the town chapel, that all the members of the meet- 
ing may have the opportunity of hearing and judging 
of the candidate's fitness for the recommendation to 
the district meeting. The exercises of the day are 
generally concluded with a watch-night. 




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